Loneliness has never been more urgent. On top of the significant mental health concerns, the idea that people are now lonelier and having fewer social interactions is fueling very real threats to security. Foremost among these is one of today's most pernicious digital frauds: romance scams, which exploit targets' feelings of isolation and net fraudsters hundreds of millions of dollars per year. As scammers increasingly organize their workflows and incorporate new AI technologies, it's becoming possible for them to deploy these scams at an even more vast scale. Romance scams, also known as confidence scams, are extremely communication-intensive. They require attackers to build relationships with their targets via dating apps and social media.

A new British dating app is promising to eradicate Tinder Swindler-style romance fraud, which cost duped daters almost £100m last year, by ensuring that all members complete biometric ID verification before they digitally mingle. Fluttr, which claims to be the first UK online dating app to use such technology to improve user safety, is launching on Valentine's Day in the hope of getting a boost from singletons looking to change their relationship status. The issue of romance fraud, catfishing and fake profiles has been put into the spotlight following the release of Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, which tells the true story of a man who went to extraordinary lengths to scam women for millions after meeting them online. The pandemic, when online dating was the only mixing that was allowed, has driven a huge surge in scams costing those duped £92m in the UK last year. "We want to rid the world of Tinder Swindlers and create a safe space free from the fake profiles used to defraud, catfish and abuse online daters," said Rhonda Alexander, the chief executive and co-founder of Fluttr.

Victims of romance scams - the majority of whom are women - lost an average of £11,145 each last year, according to new figures. The data, from police reporting centre Action Fraud, showed that £50m was lost in these scams in 2018 when fraudsters pretend to be romantically attached. Fraudsters trick victims into sending money or gather enough personal information to steal their identities. These scams of the heart are being highlighted ahead of Valentine's Day. Police say that victims are targeted via online dating websites, apps, or through social media.