Bank of Ireland has warned that consumers need to watch out for romance fraud, which is consistently impacting unsuspecting victims each month.
Romance fraud is when a fraudster builds a fake persona and relationship with a victim to gain their trust and deceive them into sending money.
Fraudsters set up a fake profile on social media channels or dating apps and websites to meet and then exploit their victims.
Bank of Ireland explained that romance scams can last a long time as the fraudster gradually builds trust.
It said the volume of cases it tracks has been consistent over time, and many incidents may go unreported due to victims feeling embarrassed or ashamed.
Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland, urged consumers to stay vigilant to romance fraud.
"Consumers need to swipe left on scammers and protect their savings from fraudsters on social media or dating apps," she said.
"The main message is never send money to somebody you've only chatted to online," she said.
"Real relationships take time to develop but scammers will declare their undying love quicker than you can say catfish. If a relationship is happening too fast online, and there is money involved, it's probably fraud, so step away from the keyboard," she advised.
"Much of this type of fraud starts through social media platforms, so these companies need to play their part in shutting it down quickly," she added.
