Two arrested after woman duped into sending £10,000 hidden in teddy bear in romance scam

Two people have been arrested after police said a woman was persuaded to send £10,000 hidden inside a teddy bear to a man she had met online as part of an alleged romance fraud.

City of London Police said the victim was first contacted on Facebook last year by a man who claimed to be working on an offshore oil rig. After building an online relationship, she sent more than £3,000 in Apple gift cards over a period of time, investigators said. The deception escalated when the man told her he needed £10,000 concealed in a soft toy to fund a helicopter evacuation from the rig; the woman took out a loan to cover the amount.

The alleged plot was uncovered when the parcel, sent to an address in the Midlands, was intercepted by postal staff who flagged it after noticing the toy felt unusually heavy. Officers said cash was discovered inside the bear. A 32-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were arrested in connection with the case, police confirmed.

Detective Inspector Kate Duff of the City of London Police, which is the national lead force for fraud, urged people to exercise caution when forming relationships online. "Be suspicious of anyone whom you have never met in person and don't feel pressure to send money, take a loan or send gift cards," she said. She also advised users not to move conversations quickly to encrypted messaging platforms, to avoid sharing phone numbers with strangers and to keep in contact with family and friends to reduce the risk of isolation by fraudsters.

The case highlights a wider rise in romance fraud in the United Kingdom. Data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, compiled by the City of London Police, showed more than £106 million was lost to romance scams in the last year, with a 9% increase in reports and 9,449 incidents recorded in the 2024/25 financial year. The NFIB said the average loss per victim was £11,222.

Police and fraud prevention bodies have repeatedly warned that scammers use emotional manipulation and increasingly sophisticated tactics to extract money from victims, often requesting payment in ways that are difficult to trace, such as gift cards or cash concealed in parcels. Authorities encourage anyone approached online who is asked for money to contact local police and to report suspicious activity to dedicated fraud-reporting services.

No charges have been filed publicly and police declined to comment on whether the arrested pair have entered pleas. The investigation remains ongoing as officers continue to examine how the alleged scheme operated and whether others were targeted in related incidents.