Be on your guard for love scams

I spoke to Richard Daniels, a fraud expert at TSB Bank, last week, who emphasised the heavy emotional toll these cruel scams can have.

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He said: "Christmas can be a time where people seek a connection and fraudsters aim to capitalise on this with fake online profiles to lure people into a relationship that simply doesn't exist."

The stories are similar. They claim to be stuck overseas, serving in the Army, working on an oil rig, or saving lives as a doctor, always with a reason they can't meet, and always in urgent need of money.