Romance fraud has become one of the UK’s most damaging forms of fraud, combining emotional manipulation with financial exploitation. Unlike many conventional scams, romance fraud can develop over weeks, months or even years, with criminals deliberately building trust and creating what appears to be a genuine romantic relationship.
For someone who suspects that the person they are speaking to is not who they claim to be, the situation can be extremely difficult. There may be questions about their identity, their relationship status, their employment, their finances, their location or their intentions.
At BlackRoot Intelligence & Investigations, we provide discreet private investigation and intelligence services for individuals who need to establish the facts.
What is romance fraud?
Romance fraud occurs when someone creates or maintains a false romantic relationship in order to manipulate another person, usually for financial or personal gain.
A fraudster may create a convincing dating profile using photographs, employment details and personal information belonging to another person. They may then establish contact through a dating website, social media platform, messaging application or another online service.
The relationship can appear completely genuine.
The fraudster may communicate every day, discuss marriage or a future together, make promises about meeting in person and create an emotional dependency. Once trust has been established, they may introduce financial problems or urgent situations.
Common requests can include money for medical treatment, travel, accommodation, legal problems, business opportunities, investments, cryptocurrency, debts or family emergencies.
Police guidance warns that fraudsters may also ask victims to receive or transfer money, send parcels, purchase gift cards or provide personal documents.
How common is romance fraud in the UK?
The scale of romance fraud is significant.
According to figures published by the City of London Police in May 2026, 10,784 romance fraud reports were made to Report Fraud, with victims losing more than £102 million. The average reported loss was approximately £9,500 per victim, although some individual losses were substantially higher.
The Government has also confirmed that, in the year ending September 2025, 10,393 of 321,025 reports to Action Fraud were categorised as dating scams – approximately 3% of all reports.
However, these figures should not be interpreted as the percentage chance that an individual will become a victim of romance fraud.
There is no reliable UK-wide percentage that tells an individual their personal probability of being targeted. Romance fraud is also significantly underreported. The National Crime Agency estimates that only around 14% of fraud cases are reported to Report Fraud or the police, meaning official figures are likely to represent only part of the problem.
The important point is that romance fraud is not a niche problem affecting a particular type of person. Anyone using dating websites, social media or online messaging platforms can potentially become a target.
Romance fraud or a love cheat?
Not every dishonest relationship is romance fraud.
There is an important distinction between a romance fraudster and a love cheat.
A romance fraudster is generally attempting to obtain money, financial information, personal information or another form of benefit through deception.
A love cheat may instead be someone who is already in a relationship or marriage but maintains another relationship without their partner’s knowledge.
For example, someone may claim to be single when they are married, maintain several romantic relationships simultaneously, use dating websites despite being in a relationship, or create a false identity to conceal their activities.
There may be no financial fraud involved, but the deception can still cause significant emotional and financial consequences.
This is where private investigation can become useful. The objective is not to make assumptions or invade someone’s privacy unnecessarily. It is to establish verifiable facts from lawful and proportionate sources.
How does romance fraud happen?
Romance fraudsters are often highly skilled at social engineering.
The relationship may begin normally. The person appears attractive, successful and interested. They may have photographs, social media accounts and an apparently credible personal history.
They can then gradually increase emotional involvement.
A fraudster may:
- Contact you frequently and become emotionally intense very quickly.
- Claim to be working overseas or travelling.
- Say they cannot meet because of work or personal circumstances.
- Move conversations away from the dating platform.
- Make promises about a future together.
- Ask you to keep the relationship secret.
- Introduce an emergency requiring money.
- Suggest an investment opportunity.
- Ask for cryptocurrency, gift cards or bank transfers.
- Become upset or aggressive when questioned.
- Introduce supposed friends, relatives, lawyers or colleagues to support their story.
Police guidance specifically highlights excuses for not meeting, requests for money, secrecy and attempts to isolate victims from friends and family as significant warning signs.
10-point romance fraud checklist
If you are concerned about someone you have met online, consider the following:
1. Have you actually met them in person?
Repeated excuses for avoiding an in-person meeting should be treated seriously.
2. Have they avoided video calls?
A refusal to speak face-to-face may indicate that the person is not who they claim to be.
3. Do their photographs appear elsewhere online?
Reverse-image searches can identify photographs that have been copied from other websites or profiles.
4. Have they moved you away from the dating platform?
Fraudsters may quickly encourage communication through WhatsApp, email or other messaging services.
5. Have they asked for money?
Any request for money should be treated as a significant warning sign.
6. Have they mentioned investments or cryptocurrency?
Romance fraud can overlap with investment fraud, with criminals using emotional relationships to persuade victims to invest.
7. Do their personal details contradict each other?
Check names, locations, employment history and other information for inconsistencies.
8. Are you being asked to keep the relationship secret?
Secrecy can prevent friends and family from identifying warning signs.
9. Does their online identity appear unusually limited?
A person may have a convincing dating profile but very little independently verifiable information.
10. Do you feel that something does not add up?
Your concerns should not be dismissed simply because the relationship feels genuine.
The BlackRoot romance fraud investigation profile
Where concerns remain after your own checks, a private investigation can provide a more structured examination of the available information.
Depending on the circumstances, an investigation may include:
Identity verification
Establishing whether the individual appears to be who they claim to be, including examination of available names, locations and online identities.
Digital and OSINT investigation
Reviewing publicly available online information, social media, websites, professional profiles and other open-source intelligence.
Reverse-image and profile analysis
Examining photographs and profile information to identify potential use of stolen images, duplicated identities or inconsistencies.
Relationship status enquiries
Where appropriate and lawful, investigating whether an individual appears to have an existing spouse, partner or other undisclosed relationship.
Address and location intelligence
Examining publicly available information that may help establish links between an individual, addresses, businesses and other relevant entities.
Employment and business checks
Reviewing available professional and corporate information to establish whether claimed employment, directorships or business interests appear credible.
Financial and asset intelligence
Where there is a legitimate investigative purpose, appropriate intelligence sources may be used to identify publicly available information concerning property, companies and potential assets.
Timeline analysis
We can help construct a chronology of the relationship, identifying inconsistencies, significant events, requests for money and changes in behaviour.
What are the challenges?
Romance fraud investigations can be complicated.
Fraudsters may operate under false names, use photographs belonging to other people and communicate from overseas. Some operate as part of organised criminal networks.
There can also be a significant emotional barrier. A person who has developed genuine feelings may find it extremely difficult to accept that the relationship could be fraudulent.
This is why an investigation should be conducted sensitively and objectively.
The purpose is not to tell someone what they want to hear. It is to establish what can be evidenced.
How BlackRoot Intelligence & Investigations can help
At BlackRoot Intelligence & Investigations, we provide discreet intelligence and private investigation services for individuals who need answers.
Our investigations can be particularly useful where you are concerned that someone:
- Is using a false identity.
- Is concealing their true relationship status.
- Has provided misleading information about their employment or background.
- Is operating multiple dating profiles.
- May be attempting to obtain money through deception.
- Has an unexplained online or corporate history.
- Is concealing assets, addresses or relationships.
- May not be the person they claim to be.
We use a combination of open-source intelligence, digital research, corporate intelligence, property intelligence and other lawful investigative techniques to establish a clearer picture.
Every case is different. Before commencing an investigation, we can discuss your circumstances, identify the appropriate scope and provide a fixed quotation.
If you suspect romance fraud
Do not send additional money simply because you are afraid of losing the relationship.
Do not provide copies of identity documents, bank details, passwords or other sensitive information.
If you have already transferred money and believe you may have been defrauded, contact your bank immediately and report the matter to the appropriate authorities. Official UK guidance also recommends speaking to someone you trust, as an independent perspective can sometimes help identify manipulation that is difficult to see from inside the relationship.
If you are unsure whether someone is genuine, you do not necessarily have to confront them before establishing the facts.
BlackRoot Intelligence & Investigations can provide a discreet initial assessment and advise on the most appropriate investigative options.
If something about an online relationship does not add up, establishing the facts may be the first step towards protecting yourself.
CONTACT US TODAY FOR A NO OBLIGATION QUOTE FOR ROMANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS
https://black-root.com/contact-us/
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