Consumer Alert
Faking it — scammers’ tricks to steal your heart and money
Not 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.
Search Terms
Topics
Scams
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
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 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.
In reply to Has anyone been contacted by by Dee64
In reply to Ohhhh boyyyy. This is the by Whitwhit
In reply to Are you referring to Brian by Dee64
In reply to Ohhhh boyyyy. This is the by Whitwhit
In reply to Has anyone been contacted by by Dee64
In reply to Dee64, yes he has been by donein22
In reply to Has anyone been contacted by by Dee64
In reply to hi. has any of u come across by i am sad
In reply to Desperate for help!!! All by Corrina
If you think someone wired money to a scammer, you can call the Western Union Fraud Hotline at 800-448-1492 or the MoneyGram Customer Care Center at 1‑800‑926‑9400. Some local police and sheriff's offices have officers or trained volunteers who talk with people about scams. You could call your local law enforcement agency and ask if there's someone who could visit or talk with your mom about her experience.
Please let your mother know that if she receives stolen money from a scammer and then transfers it to another account, or wires it to someone, her name is on the bank account and on the money transfer forms. If she is involved with this scheme, she could lose money and personal information. She could get into legal trouble. Her bank might close her account.
In reply to This man told me I am a by USEDBON
In reply to Be careful of scammers who by Germaine
In reply to Have a similar experience.... by Avril
has anyone been scammed by a guy named cliff ambritz????
I was friend requested by a man named Phillip Liam on FB. He asked me to contact him on Hangouts. I just blocked him there because I believe he's a fake. He blocked me on FB after we started "chatting" on Hangouts. His English typing is odd. He's never asked me for money. He sent me a photo of him in a suit standing in front of an expensive looking sports car. When I asked him what kind of car it was he said a Zenvo. I googled it and it's a 1.8 million dollar car. He got angry that I mentioned it and asked why I was "digging" which makes no sense since no one who wants to get to know you would react like that. He claims he is from San Francisco, his wife died of cancer a year and a half ago, he has ac15 year old son named Jessie in school in Canada, and his parents were killed in a plane crash when he was a child. I had been scammed recently and this sounds like the same thing! I don't know what this guy's game is since he has not asked me for money. He claims to get off the ship in two months. I blocked him on Hangouts and reported his FB profile page. In just posting this in case others have been contacted. My gut says trouble!
In reply to There is this gentleman by Concerned
That sounds like a scam.
I know someone who met a guy online and quickly it became a romance with plans to be together forever. They have never met in person. The guy says he is basically a mercenary (former Special Ops) and is sent around the world for undercover security jobs. He is paid in cash, under the table. He is sending money to my friend, for my friend to send to Nigeria. This makes no sense to me. Is this a scam? Or is it a set up for a different type of scam in the future?
In reply to I know someone who met a guy by Is this fraud?
Some scammers use people to help them transfer stolen money. They don't reveal that the money is stolen - they tell a story to hide the purpose for the transaction. They meet people online, create a relationship, and ask their new sweetheart to use her bank account to receive and transfer money.
If you do this for a scammer, your name is on the bank account and on the money transfer forms. If you get involved with one of these schemes, you could lose money and personal information, and you could get into legal trouble.
Other scammers send fake checks to their new friends. They ask the friend to deposit the check, and then quickly transfer funds overseas. It can take days for the bank to find out a check is fake. If you transfer money before the bank has fully cleared the check, you can lose money. If the bank finds out the check was fake after you sent the money, you must repay the bank all the money you sent.
In reply to Has anyone heard of Dr. by Wicked and Bad!!
In reply to Hi I'm talking to a guy name by Cookie
In reply to Has anyone heard of a John by Jspires07
In reply to Has anybody been contacted by by cookie monster