Banks need stricter controls to prevent romance fraud, says City regulator

FCA cites study showing victims' red flags' are often missed and calls for improved monitoring systems

The City regulator has called on banks and payment firms to bring in stricter controls protecting customers from romance fraud after a study showed a number of missed red flags" that led to people losing huge sums of money.

The review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) highlighted one case where someone lost 428,000, another where a customer made 403 payments totalling 72,000 to a fraudster and a case where someone wanted money to transfer cryptocurrency to their partner" in Iraq.