TSB Warns of Rising Friendship Fraud on Elderly

TSB bank has warned of a rising wave of online "friendship fraud" targeting older and vulnerable individuals, where scammers pose as potential friends on social media and message boards to exploit loneliness and extract money.

The bank reported that criminals build trust through prolonged conversations before requesting funds for fabricated emergencies, such as medical bills or escaping abusive situations. In one case analyzed by TSB, a customer in their late 60s made 60 payments over four years to a scammer who contacted them on a message board and claimed to be a young person needing help to flee an abusive family. The fraud went undetected until the victim reported it. Another incident involved a customer in their late 70s who lost more than 4,000 pounds after forming an online bond on social media; the scammer later professed illness and solicited payments and gift cards, which ceased abruptly, alerting the victim to the deception. A third example saw a customer in their 70s send gift cards and money after a new online contact on Facebook threatened to end communication unless payments were made following weeks of rapport-building.

TSB's data indicates that impersonation...