What to Know About Romance Scams
What to Know About Romance Scams
Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met in person.
Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps or contact you through popular social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. The scammers strike up a relationship with you to build up trust, sometimes talking or chatting several times a day. Then, they make up a story and ask for money.
Lies Romance Scammers Will Tell:
Scammers say they can’t meet you in person. They might say they’re living or traveling outside the country, working on an oil rig, or in the military. They might also refuse to answer a video call, like FaceTime or Zoom.
Scammers will ask you for money. Once they gain your trust, they’ll ask for your help to pay medical expenses, buy their ticket to visit you, pay for their visa, or help them pay fees to get them out of trouble.
Scammers will tell you how to pay. All scammers, not just romance scammers, want to get your money quickly, and they want your money in a way that makes it hard for you to get it back. They’ll tell you to wire money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, put money on gift cards and give them the PIN codes, send money through a money transfer app, like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App, or transfer cryptocurrency.
If you suspect a romance scam:
Stop communicating with the person immediately.
Talk to someone you trust.
Search online for the type of job the person has plus the word “scammer.” Have other people posted similar stories?
Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. Is it associated with another name or with details that don’t match up?
If you paid a romance scammer with a gift card, wire transfer, credit or debit card, or cryptocurrency, contact the company or your financial institution right away. Tell them you paid a scammer and ask them for assistance.
If you think it’s a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Notify the social networking site or app where you met the scammer, too.