Romance Scam

Last updated: August 2026

Risk Level: High

Romance scams cost Americans $929.3 million in 2025, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center — a 38% increase over the previous year. Fraudsters exploit emotional vulnerability to extract money through fake romantic relationships, often over months of sustained contact.

What It Is

Romance scams involve fraudsters creating fake online personas to establish romantic relationships with victims. Unlike pig butchering, which focuses on investment fraud, romance scams may involve direct requests for money for emergencies, travel, medical bills, or other fabricated crises. They are among the most financially and emotionally damaging fraud types.

How It Works

  1. The fraudster creates an attractive, credible profile on dating sites, social media, or messaging apps.
  2. Intensive communication begins — messages, calls, and apparent emotional investment.
  3. A crisis emerges — a medical emergency, travel problem, business deal gone wrong, or military deployment.
  4. A request for money follows — initially small, then escalating. Often via wire transfer, gift cards, or crypto.
  5. If the victim sends money, more crises follow. The relationship continues as long as money flows.
  6. Eventually the fraudster disappears, or the victim discovers the deception.

Warning Signs

  • The person claims to be working abroad (military, oil rig, doctor with MSF)
  • They refuse or make excuses to meet in person or video call
  • The relationship escalates very quickly — intense affection early on
  • They ask for money for emergencies, travel, or business problems
  • They request money via wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency
  • Their profile photos appear in reverse image searches linked to other identities
  • Their stories contain inconsistencies or change over time

What To Do

  1. Stop sending money immediately — no legitimate romantic partner asks for money online.
  2. Reverse image search their profile photos using Google Images or TinEye.
  3. Report the profile to the platform where you met them.
  4. Report to Action Fraud (UK), the FTC (US), or your national authority.
  5. Contact your bank if you’ve sent money recently.
  6. Talk to someone you trust — isolation is a key tactic used by romance scammers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if someone online is a romance scammer? Key indicators: they never meet in person or video call, they claim to be working abroad, they ask for money for emergencies, and their profile photos appear elsewhere online. Trust your instincts — if something feels off, it probably is.

I’ve been sending money for months. What do I do? Stop immediately. The longer you continue, the more you lose. Contact your bank about recent transfers, report to your national fraud authority, and seek support — the emotional impact of these scams is significant, and professional help is available.

Can the police help? Report to police and your national fraud authority. While individual recovery is difficult, reports help law enforcement build cases against organised fraud networks. In some cases, international cooperation has led to arrests and partial fund recovery.

How much money do romance scams cost victims? The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center report recorded $929.3 million in confidence fraud and romance scam losses in the US — a 38% increase over 2024, and among the fastest-growing fraud categories the Bureau tracks.

What’s the difference between a romance scam and pig butchering? A romance scam typically asks for money directly, for fabricated emergencies or crises. Pig butchering uses the same emotional-trust tactics but funnels the victim into a fake investment platform instead — see our Pig Butchering page for how that variant works.

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