FCA publishes multi-firm review on combatting romance fraud

The FCA has published a multi-firm review on combatting romance fraud, setting out key findings on how firms detect and prevent this type of financial crime.

Key findings included:

• Intervention and prevent are made difficult because victims may be ‘under the spell’ of the perpetrator, and reluctant to accept that they are being defrauded – in 42% of cases the FCA reviewed, victims did not disclose their true reasons for making a payment when asked.
• Despite good practice example, many firms missed opportunities to identify seemingly suspicious transactions, indicating that monitoring systems could be improved.
• A key area for improvement was for firms to ensure staff are trained to spot red flags and probe customer explanations.
• Many firms were providing a high level of support, occasionally exceeding the FCA’s expectations, but this was not consistent between firms.