Fri, 17 Oct 2025

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 'You are willing to lose the money, but not the person' says romance scam victim

Varun Yadav lost his entire life savings after he was a victim of romance fraud on a dating app.

* £106m was lost by UK victims in romance fraud cases last year.
* Varun Yadav, a London banker, lost £40,000 after being persuaded to invest in crypto trading by someone he met on a dating app.
* He ignored warning signs and felt ashamed and fearful of losing his life savings.
* The Financial Conduct Authority says banks are missing opportunities to help prevent romance scams by not detecting vulnerabilities early enough.
* Better detection systems, monitoring, and compassionate aftercare could improve outcomes for victims.
* Varun Yadav hopes sharing his story will help others avoid the same trauma he experienced.
* Romance fraud involves scammers creating fake online personas to gain trust and affection before exploiting victims for money.
* Action Fraud has key tips for protecting against romance fraud, including being cautious of urgent or secretive requests for money.
* The Metropolitan Police launched a campaign earlier this month to prevent people from getting scammed, including videos and intelligence sharing.
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