Almost £500,000 was stolen in 'romance frauds' from Warwickshire residents last year according to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

The scams, which sees criminals enter relationships with people with the aim of later defrauding them, was responsible for nearly £92million lost across Britain in 2021.

Data from the NFIB shows that 84 cases were reported in Warwickshire in 2021 and that criminals particularly target victims between Christmas and Valentine's Day.

In light of the data police have urged people to "spot the warning signs" of romance fraud if their family members begin online dating.

"Typically, romance fraudsters will spend weeks gaining their victims' trust, feeding them fabricated stories about who they are and their lives - and initially make no suggestion of any desire to ask for any money, so the victim may believe their new love interest is genuine," said Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Bradford, from the City of London Police.

"But weeks, or sometimes months later, these criminals will ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons and as the emotional relationship has already been formed, victims often transfer money without a second thought.

"We're calling on family members who think their relatives may be dating online to help make them aware of the warning signs that they could be falling victim to fraud, particularly if the person dating online is not particularly tech savvy."

(Header image by West Midlands Police via Flickr)