TSB Warns Over ‘Cruel’ Spate of New ‘Friendship Fraud’ Cases Targeting Older and Vulnerable People

WHY THIS MATTERS: The revelation of ‘friendship fraud’ targeting vulnerable individuals underscores a crucial challenge for financial services providers in the age of fast payments and punitive regulation. As a highly effective form of Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud, these scams are socially engineered to circumvent traditional technical defenses by leveraging human vulnerability, mirroring the tactics of romance fraud. The broader significance for the fintech and banking sector, particularly in the UK, stems directly from the new mandatory reimbursement regime. Banks are now financially liable for authorized scams that originate entirely off-platform, creating an acute need to deploy pre-transactional detection and real-time risk profiling. This shift mandates that institutions invest heavily in behavioral biometrics and cross-industry intelligence sharing to interrupt the payment chain before the funds are pushed, transforming fraud defense from a reactive compliance exercise into a proactive, customer-safeguarding imperatives

TSB is warning the public over a spate of ‘friendship fraud’ cases in which cruel scammers are preying on older and vulnerable people’s loneliness and desire to seek a connection.

New TSB data shows a series of recent scams in which criminals are using social media to lure people into online friendships, before extracting money that can range into the tens of thousands.

TSB’s fraud expert, Stephanie Harrison warns that this type of fraud mirrors romance fraud in its approach – with fraudsters building trust and rapport before demanding money. But this type of fraud sees victims simply seeking online contact and friendship – and to combat loneliness.

In the series of cases that TSB analysed, victims made anything from one payment, up to 60 payments, in a ‘friendship’ that lasted several years.

In one case, a customer in their late 70s lost over £4,000 after being befriended on Instagram. After spending time to form a friendship, the individual then said they were unwell – and urgently needed help for medical bills. The well-meaning customer sent a series of payments and gift cards, before contact dried up and they realised it was fraud

A total of 60 payments were made in a recent case, where a customer in their late 60s was befriended on a forum. The conversation then moved to a different website, where the scammer posed as a young person who required financial assistant to flee an abusive family. Sadly, this relationship spanned four years until it was reported.

A third case saw a customer in their 70s befriend a new contact on Facebook. After building trust with regular conversation, the scammer threatened to stop talking with the individual, unless they sent gift cards and payments. TSB supported with a refund of over £3,000 in this case.

TSB data shows that impersonation fraud – which involves any form of fraud in which scammers pretend to be a person, or organisation – accounts for 29%2 of all bank transfer cases at TSB. And this has increased by 15% in a year. The average loss per case is over £3100.

Steph Harrison, TSB Fraud Expert, said: “Scammers are targeting older and vulnerable people’s life savings, by preying on their goodwill and desire for company and friendship – with the cruel and fake promise of online companionship.

“We can all help by checking in on friends and family – and for those seeking online friendship, be wary, especially if money is involved – as you just don’t know who you’re really talking to.”

FF NEWS TAKE: This data moves the needle by putting a formal name on a growing, emotionally exploitative type of Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud. Since these scams originate predominantly on social media platforms, the next logical step must be regulatory pressure compelling these platform providers to assume financial liability. Until accountability is shared across the entire digital ecosystem—banks, telecom, and social networks—financial institutions will continue to hemorrhage funds trying to fight sophisticated, network-driven criminal operations in isolation.