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Image of cupid and heartNot everyone using online dating sites is looking for love. Scammers create fake online profiles using photos of other people — even stolen pictures of real military personnel. They profess their love quickly. And they tug at your heartstrings with made-up stories about how they need money — for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel. Why all of the tricks? They’re looking to steal your money.

As if all that isn’t bad enough, romance scammers are now involving their victims in online bank fraud. Here’s how it works: The scammers set up dating profiles to meet potential victims. After they form a “relationship,” they come up with reasons to ask their love interest to set up a new bank account. The scammers transfer stolen money into the new account, and then tell their victims to wire the money out of the country. Victims think they’re just helping out their soulmate, never realizing they’re aiding and abetting a crime.  

Here are some warning signs that an online love interest might be a fake. They ask you to:

  • chat off of the dating site immediately, using personal email, text, or phone
  • wire money using Western Union or Money Gram
  • set up a new bank account

Did you know you can do an image search of your love interest’s photo in your favorite search engine? If you do an image search and the person’s photo appears under several different names, you’re probably dealing with a scammer. And if the person’s online profile disappears a few days after they meet you, that’s another tip-off.

Here’s the real deal: Don’t send money to someone you met online — for any reason. If your online sweetheart asks for money, you can expect it’s a scam.

Unfortunately, online dating scams are all too common. There may be tens of thousands of victims, and only a small fraction report it to the FTC. If this happens to you, please report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

A woman looking at a dating site on her computer.

Search Terms
bank account
fraud
military
money transfer
online dating
scam
Topics
Shopping and Donating
Scams
Romance Scams

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
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  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Vee
February 01, 2018
My scammer's name is Micheal Murphy (Yes, Michael is spelled wrong) That was one of my first clues. He started talking to me via Instagram. His profile picture is of a very handsome heavily tattooed white man. Says he is 52 years old, he is a Civil Engineer, he currently lives in Queens, New York but is originally from the UK. He just lost his wife 3 yrs ago and now its just him and his 16 year old son Alex, who is currently in Boarding school. I was very suspicious since the get-go because I just thought it was so odd for someone to use Instagram as a dating site. So he starts saying how beautiful I am, and how he has now practically found his soulmate, and how he wants to marry me, keep in mind this is like 30 minutes of messaging back and forth. i tell him I am 39, then he says its ok, Age is just a number. Another thing that tipped me off was that he insisted I install a messaging app called Viber. So I looked into and I saw its a app that allows you to make long international calls for free. I thought, well if you are in New York, then you wouldn’t need this, right? he insisted I always message him. Also, you can tell English is not a language he dominates well by the way he writes. It just so happens that the day he writes to me is the day he is going to see Alex…get this, he says he needs to see Alex because he needs to give him “money and chocolate”. Also, he kept referring to me as “Dear”. The worst is when he told me he loved me and was sooooo concerned about how i felt about him. Since this all seemed very suspicious I decided to do a bit of research and found these posts. All stories are similar, so I was like ah-ha, I was right, my suspicions were right so I blocked him. I did not give him a chance to ask for money.
Wonder Woman
March 07, 2018

In reply to by Vee

Sounds a lot like my scammer. An Engineer with bad English and ‘age is just a number’ line
Karma Isa Beech
January 21, 2021

In reply to by Vee

I think this is my Derrick Lockwood cuz his photos are of heavily tattooed GORGEOUS man that I thought was my boyfriend for the last 11 months. Now, I believe he (the tattooed guy in the photos) was scammed by them as well pretending to be women. The scammer goes by Derrick Lockwood... from Fargo,ND living in Vancouver, WA. Has Son Ryder, who he also refers to as Burke. Ex left him and then,got busted for drugs with her boyfriend while they were still married so now,his assets are frozen pending investigation. TOTAL SCAM. Im reporting it to police,FTC,FBI, anyone and everyone cuz there guys are really good at what they do. Now,I'm sure photos of me are being used to scam other men. I really just wanna meet the guy in the photos!
Bluelilac
September 06, 2021

In reply to by Karma Isa Beech

He got me to and 2 other women i talked to also
Don't be a sucker
September 07, 2021

In reply to by Karma Isa Beech

This guy scammed me out of $6k. It is the guy in the pics because he video called me once to prove it was him and Burke. I do believe he works with a network of other ppl, including his wife. He has a bunch of other women collecting money for him. I contacted one of these women and she told me everything. She has been "working" for him for years but even she doesn't know who he really is. Derrick Lockwood is a scammer. I have tried to reach out to other women but have only contacted one. If i would have talked to her one day sooner, i wouldn't have lost a dime.
Karma Isa Beech
October 22, 2021

In reply to by Don't be a sucker

The "Derrick Lockwood" from your photos have Fear God tattooed in script on his chest?
yadiester06
February 01, 2018
This man I met told me he is a Marine Engineer, greek but lives in Buffalo, divorce, his wife left him with one dauther. His mother is in a wheel chair and his brother was killed
Foreverlove11
February 01, 2018
I set up a Craigslist ad to find love. Some one responded it. He said he was 28 and in the military. He hasn't asked for money. He told me that he is a widowed. His wife died in a car accident a while back. He has a 5 year old daughter. He says his a lieutenant. I'm just trying to find out if I'm getting scammed. He says his not allowed to do video chats. We have been talking off of kik. He has sent me pics of him not in uniform. He seems real but I'm not sure. His deployed in Afghanistan. He told me that his coming back to the states in September. Are they allowed to do video chats?
countrygirl
February 01, 2018
I received DM messages on Instagram from a very handsome man claiming to be Mike John Hood, Commander of the RCAF. The photos were of Commander Hood however they were all photos avaisble online in press releases, etc. I became suspicious that everyone he was following was a middle-aged woman. He claimed to be a widow with 2 girls butblater nentioned his divorce. I also found it strange that the Commander of the RCAF could spent an entire day messaging me, so I blocked him. Anyone else encountered him online?
Bonnie
February 02, 2018
My widowed father-in-law has been talking to a woman he met on a dating site who says her name is Susan Walters and she is from New York. So far he has sent her several thousand but he is still in denial. Looking for proof our suspicions are right. They have never met, only talk through text. Recently she stated she was inheriting money from her deceased husband's estate and then had her lawyer call him to verify this. So much more but it sounds fishy to our family.
HBK(Heart Break Kid)
February 02, 2018
I have been chatting with this girl for a past few weeks she's a nurse from unicef Nigeria and she just ask me to send her some money for her meds....should I send the money and she just stole my heart with sweet talks
Oregon
February 03, 2018

In reply to by HBK(Heart Break Kid)

No,you should send nothing. The pictures are not really that person. It may not even be a female who is texting you. When they target young men, they use porn actress pic,and the UNICEF nurse story is an old one. Your heart is going to break for a few days, but just stop replying, and the liar con man will disappear from whatever app you're using. Or if on Twitter, they will block you. Then you be thankful you still have your finances, and sanity
Fed up
February 02, 2018
Ladies beware if a man name peter clark says he lives in long beach.cal.his wife past away he has 2 children .his children live with his mom in uk which is where he says he was raised he is in brazil right now on a oil rig he will get to your heart but then want you to send i tune cards and then when he really says he loves you he has a problem with bank account in California and needs money to send to his mom in uk he will ask you to take out a loan if you dont have it7
Fed up
February 02, 2018
Beware on a man names paul james says he lives in Tulsa Oklahoma has one child that lives with a nanny he is currently in turkey for a job he will try to get money saying he was hurt or jumped on his way to the job sight has some good piks but once he as for money and wanted to send to my bank once i confronted him he shut his facebook down
Captuered By a…
February 02, 2018
IT has happened to Me! He goes by Brent Stoltz this time. A Widower, has a daughter in Oxford doing medicine.... An Oil rig Engineer ... wrote the best emails ever... said he lives in Richmond, BC He even gave me his address which is not his. Don't let him scam you.
Mmorris414
February 02, 2018
Please Help! I am currently in the process of helping a man named, Michael Bradley, currently stuck in Dubai, had me open an account and is transferring money into this account from his TIAA retirement account. The wants me to wire the money to him. I haven’t given him any money, but he does have all the information about me. This guy is suppose to live in Laurel, MD. Sent me several pics, his birthdate, address, his bank he belongs to...how do I find out if this is legit before I wire this money????
FTC Staff
February 02, 2018

In reply to by Mmorris414

This sounds like a scam.

Some scammers find people online and form a “relationship,” then ask you to open a new bank account. The scammers transfer stolen money into the new account, and then tell their victims to wire the money out of the country. Victims think they are helping someone, but really they are aiding and abetting a crime.

You can choose whether or not to cooperate with this person. If you gave personal information, decide how to protect it. If you gave a bank or credit card account number, contact your bank and credit card company and explain what happened.

Here is a list of warning signs of identity theft. If you see clues that someone is using your personal information for identity theft, report it at IdentityTheft.gov

Neveragain
February 16, 2018

In reply to by Mmorris414

I don't know if this reply will reach you on time but DO NOT SEND THE MONEY.
Bulb
February 20, 2018

In reply to by Mmorris414

Legit or not, just do not send him money... We wouldn't go asking random people on the internet for financial help...
MMorris414
November 11, 2019

In reply to by Mmorris414

Update: I did not open the account, never sent any money and no longer talk to men on line...lesson learned!
That was not m…
February 03, 2018
Betty 1234 How can you identify anyone with a photo. They could be using someone else photos. And men will wear beards one minute be clean shaven the next. The whole thing is depressing. I think this is the price we pay for being able to use the internet. And I think that these date lines should throw off users who use that line for this kind of activity. On POF I have had men asked me for money for these iTunes and I tell them to do to hell. And they never want to meet anyone I guess that is because you could identify them. Maybe some of us of have just got to decide going it alone may not be that bad.
N.H
February 03, 2018
If you run across a Honduran man names Carlos Flores aka. Carlos Betanco. He also goes by the Gargi. Know that he is a sweet talker, will take you money, and he is infected with HIV. He has given it to four women in the Springfield, Virginia area.
sadandlost
February 04, 2018
Has anyone encountered a man by the name of James Hudson or Paul Hudson. He is from German decent and says he is from Maryland. He travels to Dubai to purchase gold bars. He is currently stuck in Dubai because he can’t pay the shipping costs but not matter how much I send him he says Starship express shipping keeps changing the prices. He also claims to have a 11 year old son in Ontario California who is being cared for by his aunt carol. I am out 35,000 dollars and my credit is completely destroyed , my bank accounts closed and I am so ashamed to tell my family. I feel like killing myself. I’m so scared and have no one to talk to about this. Please help.
Beenscamed
March 21, 2019

In reply to by sadandlost

I believe I have encounter this James Hudson. We met thru Match. Never met in person. He left for Muscat Omen - or so he said. Text and phone calls a lot. Said he was in the antique and rare gems business. Said the Port officials messed up the containers and delayed shipments. He said the officials then beat he and his team and took their passports.. I did send him $3,000 but he said that would only get 1 passport back. I had researched him but nothing came back. I mentioned romance scams and he said he was so sad that I thought that way. Calls me baby. That was just yesterday - digging deeper I found this website. Thank you. He's blocked forever.
Confused and used
September 03, 2020

In reply to by sadandlost

I know its a couple years since you posted,but werid thing is some guy talked name james Hudson just started talking to me,he says he from military,has a daughter,he owns a house in delaware. He asking for money to buy toliet paper and hand sanitizer while in the military..real kicker he says it cost $200.. so not sure if the same guy but he did have POF account. I haven't sent any money to him, because i think its crazy.
sadandlost
February 05, 2018

I forgot to add to my recent post that he would ask me to send money by western union or money gram to the individuals below. Michael Adjei Kissi Country Ghana  Ransford Kuffour oduro Country Ghana  Name Samuel k. Mensah. Address GIFF Agency block Acvgo Airport,Accra-Ghana. Solomon Sabah in Ghana

i luv u
February 04, 2018
i totally hate it
pamela
February 05, 2018
, I met guy at zoosk on line dating, he told me eginner drilling at Galveston Texas but his Canadian his send it me his picture and his daughter picture, the picture same like his posted at dating side one day his told me he has trouble can not connect to his account because his work at shore gulf mexico and the bank not believe him because he is in gulf mexico his desperate for pay his employee and his send it me wells forgo bank for deposit the money and after that come out the other history his daughter get sick and he need money more and his send it picture his daughter in mexico cose his daughter traveling to mexico and get sick, and I told to him contact your counselor the mean Canadian counselor and his mad to me for what???he ask me money and want me deposit to wells fargo but with different name in the account and I told to him the money I have I use it for pay my truck service he is not happy why not help him for his daughter sick in mexico, but one day his ask me for open his account balance , I try the web site his send it to me I am not find it the name the bank in Canada but his send me more the web site the bank and his tell to me copy and paste from his email and finally open but I have question I open that same address in internet does not open but he is barging me for send it money for his daughter in his account show up money with million but my question why his barging me money for 5000 dollar just for his sick daughter, when I told to him the money I have already use it for my truck he is not contact me more I ask to him why not use your money he had million and million in his bank he is not answer my question too and I was know this is a scam dating just look for money by love. Dating online real not secure may one of from a thousand people real, the company whose have dating web they are real make money because they are otomatickly took your money from your card and never have refund to you when you was joint with dating and when your member expire they are otomatickly take your money from your card and never refund that why they are ( dating on line company) make good money. They are selective the member they are just business for make money.
gypsy
February 05, 2018
i also fell for a us military man on facebook i was so blind so alone he told me he loved me called me wife and baby asked for money said he cant access his account he was in turkey then got transferred to nigeria to fight the boku haram like an idiot i fell for it i did send some money not alot but now he wants gifts watch silver chain etc i said no wants me to send it to his agent nope i said no more money no gifts nothing he shattered my heart im slowly healing his name is juan aragon says he is in i s a f in us military im done with online stuff no more
Nkshigrl
February 06, 2018
I had a person who goes under the names James Nguyen on Facebook. He told me he is 47 years old, that his late wife died of skin cancer and he is in Africa for a business trip to buy gold.after 2 days of chatting he confess he have feeling for me and after 2 week he want to get married.he want me to lend him 1000 dollar so he can trafer the money to buy the rest of his gold.he would pay me back in double cause he had a million dollar in his account. He lost his info so he could not withdraw. On the day he supposed to fly back to Texas he was robbed and lost his cell phone so he wanted me to send me him my credit card. When I did not send it he like you don't love me why would I want to still talk to you and come to see you lol. He was pretending to be a Vietnamese man from Vietnam that was a music teacher.
mar@
February 06, 2018

I hope ladies that you realize that people are not in love if they have not met you yet. Meet men quickly from dating sites for coffee. Only get close if u meet. If they are from other countries why bother its too far away. Save yourself heartache. Or scams

Bella3123
February 06, 2018
Anybody meet a Patrick Owen who lives in Brooklyn but sells" cars in Nigeria. Wants me to open account to accept wires then wrote to him in Nigeria
Daisy
October 11, 2019

In reply to by Bella3123

Yes my friend spoke to a Patrick Owen then she got scammed by a Michael Williams
Blondie
February 07, 2018
Anyone heard of a Davis Roberto. Supposedly working on oil right in Mossel Bay South Africa. Can't find him on any social media. Says he's Italian. Wants to meet me when he gets off in a month's time. Told him to send me pics of him on the rig. I'm still waiting on his reply.
Duped in Calif
February 16, 2018

In reply to by Blondie

I was contacted by a Collins Roberto also Italian. Says hes from Chicago but in Sweden on business. A real charmer but watch out...he wants money because his passport was confiscated etc
GDT280756
December 12, 2020

In reply to by Blondie

ABOUT 8 WEEKS AGO I RECEIVED A FACEBOOK FRIEND REQUEST FROM A FRANK DAVID. HE SAYS HE IS FROM SOMERSET WEST AND AENT TO MOSSELBAY OIL RIG AS HE TOLD ME HE IS A PETROLEUM ENGINEER. HE ASKED FOR r15000 FROM ME, WHICH I HAVEN'T SEND. HE IS STILL ASKING ME TO HELP ME SOURCE MONEY TO COMPLETE HIS 30 MILLION RAND CONTRACT. HE MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM, AS I AM BIPOLAR AND WAS SCAMMED EARLIER IN THE YEAR BY A MONEY LENDING SYNDICATE I RELAPSED FROM STRESS, SO AFTER BEING HOSPITILIZED IN SEPTEMBER I WAS VERY VULNERABLE AND WHEN THIS GUY STARTED TALKING TO ME ON WHATSAPP HE MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. HE WROTE THE MOST BEAUTIFULL EMAILS AND MESSAGES. SO THIS TIME I DIDN'T LOOSE MONEY LIKE WITH THE OTHER SCAMMERS BUT I AM NOW LEFT WITH A BROKEN HEART AND ARE BACK IN THERAPY AND BACK ON MY BIPOLAR MEDICATION. SO BASICALLY THE WHOLE OF 2020 I WAS USED BY SCAMMERS THAT MANIPULATED ME, BECAUSE THEY KNEW I WAS UNSTABLE DUE TO THE FACT THAT I STOPPED MY MEDICATION. SO NOW I AM CRYING OVER THIS MAN THAT OBVIOSLY DOESN;T EXIST
LTIMMER
February 07, 2018
THE PERSON I WAS TALKING WITH WENT BY THE NAME BRIAN ON EHARMONEY. THE MANINTHE PICTURE ACTUALLY WAS DECEASED SO THEY USED A DECEASED PERSON IDENTITY. IT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME TO FIND THIS OUT LAST WEEK SINCE I FELT I WAS TALKING TO HIM FOR 4 MONTHS. WE CONNECTED BY PRAYSERS TO HIM SINCE I FEEL
Its so wrong!
February 08, 2018
Has anyone heard David Muller? He suppose to be from New York but all if the sudden he traveled to Canada. He fell in love with me after few days talking and told me he inherited properties He is in construction, his wife died from cancer. After we talked couple of weeks he told me he lost his vallet and asked for a iTunes card so that he can submit his blue prints to the company he works for lol. Send me many pictures including picture of his driver license. I Google the pictures he sent me I can't find them anywhere is that mean those are his actual pictures? And he also told me His dad is German his mom is from San Diego. Please help!
Ingrid
September 03, 2020

In reply to by Its so wrong!

Someone by the same name just contacted me on my Facebook. Sounds exactly the same. He is from Texas and he has 5 year old son and his wife died from giving birth to another baby
Mellysul
February 09, 2018
Has anyone ever had someone ask them to marry them , complete stranger. Won’t say anything about themselves. Says he’s the council elder to the Illuminati.
bogart34
February 09, 2018
I’ve had two “girls” try to scam me now and a third trying today. Now I ask for a picture with them holding a sign saying “insert phrase” and the one today instantly blocked me hAha. The poor sentence structure is a good tip off. And the all to quick to fall in love is another
debra.d
February 12, 2018

And if smart FBI said don't give them your full name or any of there.my son had his name stolen by a scammer and put on stolen credit card number and my son was told they have to take action against him because cause can't get them being overseas so watch yourself or you can wind up in jail or even prison for helping with any bank stuff like that or accepting checks to put in your acct that ends up being bad checks.

mira
February 10, 2018
Hi. I"m from Norway, Dose anyone know about Christopher M Rey,jobs in afganistan, as othopedic surgeon for United nations.
so wrong!
February 10, 2018
This has happened to me too. He goes by the name Charles Gould, first started talking to him on Facebook messages, wasn't long before all of a sudden his profile page just disappeared, then after about a week he message me again telling me that something happened to his page on FB, so he talked me into going to Hangout app. And yes he started that I love you so much starting to call me honey and deer, sending me sweet little rhymes, he just about had me hooked there for a little while, until he started asking me to send him a iPhone card, I can't put in him off for a long time soundly I sent him a $75 I tune card. After that he started telling me that his wife died of cancer 5 years ago and he was raising his 12 year old grandson because his son died in a car accident. And he was a contractor for the government working on a oil rig in Louisiana, and he lived in California that is where his home was and he kept trying to get me to tell him that I would come live with him. That is when I started to be to be very careful ( you do not ask someone to come live with you when you don't even know that person I know I'm crazy but I'm not that crazy) then he started talking to me about all personal things credit cards things like that, when he found out I had a credit card like the next week all of a sudden his grandson was in an accident and had to have spinal surgery and he needed $3,500. He wanted me to send him my credit card number so his company could send it to his sister in California. (thank God I did not do that) so he did not text me for several weeks after that, then all of a sudden he started texting me again asking me to be partners with him in a business contract, with a company that sold Concrete in Africa, I knew that was not real. so that is just a little bit of what he tried to do to me, talked to my friend and she found this site that I am on, so realized he really is a scam deleted him off of hang up will not do that ever again, learn my lesson will not accept anybody on Facebook that I don't know.
Its so wrong!
February 10, 2018
Addition to what I said he is still contacting me and using 716- are code and getting ready to ask money for the second time ( I said no the first time).he is very good looking ( the man on the pictures) blue eyes, beard and says 57 years old has a 28 years old daughter and she is in medical school.I wish he was real
Jenjen
September 24, 2021

In reply to by Its so wrong!

Do you have pictures? This sounds like the same situation my grandmother is in and we are just trying to get her to understand it’s a scam.
Strong woman
February 10, 2018
I talked to a man name Kevin Robert wondering if anyone out there has talked to him
Vintagegal
February 10, 2018
I would like to give the names of two men who have been scamming...I made the mistake a year ago of falling for the first one.. but watch out on Match.com and also Words with Friends... it apparently happens anywhere today.. James Huckaby.. claims he lost his wife to Cancer and has a 16 year old Son. started with asking for an iTunes card and went to asking for large sum and to wire transfer to an "assistant"s bank account in Texas... Also Western Union and MoneyGram.. used another person's name to pick up the money in Moscow. be very careful.. he is brilliant at this.. Second one: was playing scrabble and you get challenged to play by strangers at times.. this man told me he is an engineer working on a rig in the gulf of Mexico and that he is widowed and has a son 16 years old... that he lives in Dallas Tx. Asked for an iTunes card first, then he suddenly claims that his drilling machine needed repair so he could finish the project in another week... and asked me for 2000.00 and that I am his only hope.. that he would lose his job imminently.. I refused and he left from love to nothing.. so be careful ladies.. anyone who wants to get close to you online even on scrabble games can be a scammer. the name here is James Lukas... claimed to be born in Milan Italy and grew up there.. but I am very sure this is yet another scammer..
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