Urgent warning as number of Brits falling for online love scams and losing £4,500 on average soars

THE number falling for online love scams shot up more than a quarter in six months, a survey found.

Hundreds of customers at one bank alone handed over around £3.8million to the con between March and August.

That was a 27 per cent jump from just over £3million reported stolen to Santander between August 2023 and this March.

The average loss was £4,500 and customers aged 18 to 93 were targeted.

The bank’s poll of 2,000 people found half had received unsolicited online flirtatious messages they suspected or confirmed to be a scam.

Nearly a third said they would offer money to a romantic partner they had known for less than six months.

But nearly two-thirds reckon they would never fall for a romance fraud.

Paul Gorton, a contestant on BBC’s The Traitors, said: "In my experience, it's surprisingly easy to build deep trust, especially when someone is charming and says all the right things.

"As we start to feel a connection, whether it's real or not, we can end up overlooking red flags and ignore any warnings from others around us.

"Stay vigilant to spot a traitor, it'd be too easy if they simply messaged you out of the blue asking for your money.

"Approach any new relationship with cautious optimism, complete checks and having your wits about you at the start."

• A FRAUDSTER who conned a woman he met on a dating app has been ordered to pay her back £32,000. Kye Hughes, 35, of Rochester, Kent, last year got three years, four months’ jail for the fraud.