Nationwide has issued a warning over romance scams, highlighting that methods being used by fraudsters could mean you will never get your money back.

It highlighted: “Once the money has been sent, it’s unlikely you’ll get it back. It can even be impossible to recover. The scammer will often disappear after they get the money. The messages stop, their profile goes away.”

It urged anyone who has sent money to a person they now suspect is a scammer to contact the bank with any evidence they have. This warning comes as 29% of people looking for romance online had been asked to give money to someone they hadn’t yet met in person.

Tragically, out of those that were asked for money, 51% agreed to the request. This rising form of fraud stole £31.3million from hardworking Brits in 2022 according to UK Finance.

However, it’s not just financial issues these scammers leave in their wake. Victims are also often left with a hefty amount of emotional damage.

Nationwide experts explained: “Over time, scammers build online relationships based on trust and do what they can to make people think this is the real thing. Eventually, they start asking for money.

“And they use emotional manipulation and exploitation to lure people in. They claim the money is for anything from medical fees for a sick parent to travel money to come visit you. These are lies. They are not who they say they are.”

That being said, many happy and real relationships do start online. To tell the difference between a potential partner and a silver-tongued scammer, the high street bank shared seven checks you should do first.

Stay on trustworthy sites

Scammers sometimes get onto legitimate sites and might invite you to speak on other less credible platforms, such as private emails, phone calls or instant messaging. This is harder to track and secure, so it’s recommended to stay on trustworthy dating apps and sites.

Avoid money talk

If the person starts sending, requesting or asking for money before you’ve had a chance to meet them in person, this is a major red flag. Avoid this chatter until you can meet them or simply walk away.

Research

It’s possible for a relationship to get serious online before moving in person, but you can still do some digging to ensure you’re falling for something real. Nationwide advised: “Are they on other social network websites? Can you confirm what they’ve told you about where they work or live or what their life circumstances are? You may want to do a reverse image search on their photos.”

Check with real loved ones

Sometimes it can be hard to see the forest for the trees, and when you’re overcome with emotions, scammers will worsen this by isolating you. They may insist you keep your relationship a secret, this should set off alarm bells and it may be best to talk about your relationship to trusted loved ones.

Check the script

Romance scammers are often talking to multiple victims at a time and may even use a generic script copy and pasted into each chat. This will have general terms like ‘honey’ or ‘babe’ instead of your name and inconsistencies can arise, don’t let your rose-tinted glasses hide these mistakes.

Be wary of investments

Scammers may try to convince you to make an investment, either supporting their projects or pretending to offer real advice. Nationwide advised: “They’ll try to convince you it’s easy, or guarantee high returns. Don’t be fooled.”

Use a checker

Banks and Action Fraud offer a range of advice and checks from professionals. Nationwide’s Scam Checker Service can check any payments from your Nationwide account that you may be worried about.