Hopeless romantics looking for love on dating sites have been warned not to fall for scammers this Valentine's Day.

Research shows that over the past few years con artists scrolling through sites in a bid to dupe lonely hearts out of cash, visas, holidays and even cosmetic surgery, has risen.

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Tricksters create new identities and elaborate backstories, aimed at specific targets, in a bid to pique their interest, claims Michael Kent, CEO and founder of Azimo digital money-transfer service.

News Shopper: More than 2,700 online dating-related crimes were reported to the police from the start of November 2014 to the end of October 2015

Mr Kent said: "Philippines, Russia and Thailand are amongst the highest regions of these scams.

"The most unfortunate part about the scam is the victims are mostly well-meaning hopeless romantics, who are lonely or longing for love.

"We always tell our customers to only send money to someone they’ve met - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is."