Dating scams rise by 19% in Bedfordshire as estimated cost of UK romance fraud tops £100m

And, interestingly, Romance Scams Advice – which obtained the data – found there has been a 7.5% national increase in scams involving men.

Opportunistic dating scammers have stung the UK public for more than £100 million across 2024/25, with 9,449 cases of romance fraud reported in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during the financial year – and a significant increase in reports in Bedfordshire.

New figures obtained by Romance Scams Advice via Freedom of Information (FoI) requests found reports of romance scams soared from 72 reports to Bedfordshire Police in 2022/23, to 86 in 2024/25.

And 230 reports were filed during the three-year period – marking an increase of 19.44%.

But despite the jump in cases, Bedfordshire is far from the worst affected area, with reports to police forces across the UK rising by an average of 37.67%.

Greater London had the largest increase, via the sheer number of reports to the Metropolitan Police, with 1,140 cases in 2022/23 growing to 1,230 in 2024/25 – and a whopping total of 3,491 reports across the three-year period.

However, Nottinghamshire Police had the most dramatic climb with a mind-boggling rise of 152% in reports, as 101 cases in 2022/23 leapt to 255 in 2024/25.

More than £100 million stolen by dating scammers in single year

Dating scammers have wrung more than £100 million from the UK public during 2024/25 – with 9,449 cases of romance fraud reported across Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the financial year.

While victims of romance scams lost a total of £92.8 million during 2022/23, the equivalent figure for 2024/25 has shot up to a terrifying total of £106 million, making for an increase of more than 14% over three years.

Underreporting is a potential issue with romance fraud, with reasons ranging from embarrassment to people being unaware of ongoing scams, meaning the true number of cases could be even higher.

Men increasingly at risk

The figures reveal a rise in the number of male-identifying victims, with a 7.5% increase in cases reported annually by men since 2022.

While cases reported by women have continued to hover around 3,500 per year, the number of reports for male victims has risen from 3,984 to 4,296 from 2022/23 to 2024/25.

Age no barrier to fraud as Gen Z and Gen X dominate figures

Gen X may have witnessed the dawn of cyber threats, while Gen Z have spent their entire lives with the internet at their fingertips – but clearly neither of the tech-savvy age groups are immune to romance fraud, as they jointly dominate the figures.

More than 17% of cases reported over the three-year period featured victims aged between 20-29, while 31.29% were reported by people aged between 40-59.

Vigilance needed to beat ‘devious’ scammers, says expert

Stuart Lythgoe, a specialist in fraud recovery claims for Romance Scams Advice, said: “These shocking figures underline the growing importance of tackling romance fraud. Scammers prey on the trust of vulnerable people, and with huge sums of money often at stake, the results can be psychologically damaging as well as financially harmful.

“People should always be wary when sending money, particularly to anyone asking for money who they have never met."

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