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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.

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 won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • 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.

Louise
April 25, 2019
Just wondering if anyone has come across a guy that goes by johnsonmonland1111 on Instagram then soon asks to chat on hangouts. Apparently in the us army on a peace mission in Afghanistan. His parents were killed in an accident when he was 10 years old He has a 9 year old daughter but lost his wife. We started talking just as friends but he soon turned it romantic anyway to cut a long story short he said he's sent me a parcel. I then get an email of 'ups' saying i need to pay 3180 so the parcel can be released from Turkey international airport and delivered to me. When i tried the tracking number on the main ups site it didn't work, but if i followed the link i was sent by him then it work. I told him last night i had no way of paying it and he went on about me finding a way so we can start out life together. Ive had a look on Google and the same pictures go under the name Johnson Morrison.
Alessandra
April 29, 2019

In reply to by Louise

Just had a Chat with an ' American' who was on a peace keeping mission in Afghanistan . Scott . Been married 14 years, wife cheated on him , looking for a mother for his kids!! All didn't add up so blocked him , still tried to send a message and then 'someone else' tried to follow me on Instagram...almost same name Scott Williams. Funny because said I was old enough to be his grandmother and this 'new person' looks like a grandfather !
Dinnah
May 25, 2019

In reply to by Alessandra

For you he told you so! Damn this person is really a scam, the past few months, I have also been chatting with the same guy known as Jones Scott, who tried to steal my heart, but after then he just tried to say that he will send me some gifts I mean presents in parcel form, but their is a deficit if money to pay for the transport so as the parcel to reach to me.. But, unfortunately I wasn't able to send him, any kind of money, instead I have him different opportunities on how he will be able to send that parcel. Mmh! This person is absolutely a scam..
GGXX
April 25, 2019
Today I just talk with a sergent Melissa Roberts, from Delaware. She said to me that she is sergent right now in Afganistan and she is in love with me. I don't believe this and I will not send any money.
LoriPA
April 25, 2019
Mine wasn't match but words with friends online game. Got friendly. Was going out of country for work. His name using James Smith LOL. WAS SENDING ME A PARCEL FROM A COURIER IN Bahrain. Get an email from courier telling me I need to pay $12,750.00 for a permit to send to the USA. Told carrier no. Told me authorities will take care of me. Then Mr. Smith gets in touch with me and he has a plan to get me the money to get this parcel. He needed bank info user name password etc. Yeah right. He's also sending authorities and I will rot in jail. Come get me.
Don't use your…
April 25, 2019
Anybody know a Richard Adams oil rig guy in Lagos Nigeria????
angel
April 25, 2019
After meeting on Online Dating Site (Zoosk) and talking for about a monthPatrick Cook asked me to open an account on Coinbase which I did but never completed. He said he did very well and wanted me to. I said I did not want to do anything until I returned from a 30 day trip. Upon my return Patrick asked me to open a new bank account but not tell the bank it was for crytocurrency. I didn't open one. Then he asked me to look through my stock portfolio and see which stocks were not doing well and cash them out. I didn't and he got very angry and said I must not be serious about making money. I told him I did not want to discuss any financial information with him until we had met in person which was supposed to be this June. He said he wasn't go to waste any more of his time and hung up. He had been very kind and solicitous up until this point. I have since blocked him on my phone and on Skpe. His Skype name was Patrick.Cook34 and his Zoosk online name was fantasticsmile. He also is supposed to have a residence in Cleveland Ohio. He is supposed to be originally from the Netherlands. Has a daughter named Rosemary who is a stockbroker and a grandson named Eric. His wife died from cancer 8 years ago and of course he took care of her. (see a pattern here)Supposedly he also worked in design. I have many pictures as well as texts but really none alluding to him wanting to get money from me. He was a very attractive 61yo DOB 7/11/57. Completely gray, piercing blue eyes and supposedly about 6 ft tall. Tried to a reverse image search but never found the pictures elsewhere. He claims to have 2 homes one in Cleveland, Ohio and another in Panama City, Florida. He played me because he knew I have a strong faith but don't assume kindness as weakness. I would like to see these kind of scammers stopped before they take advantage of anyone else. At least I did not loose any money however because it was so subtle I wanted to make others aware. I think on some level I wanted to believe his profession of us being meant to be but never really did.
scam father and mama
April 25, 2019
I also have a conversation with a woman from USA she asked me to send her 80000000 million dollars God punish all of una way they here dey waste time time wasted na e be una name
tammyb808
April 25, 2019
I was followed on Ig by a guy named Austin Bryan proclaiming to be interested in me. When he asked me about buying Google cards a red flag went up!!! How you ask someone to buy something for you and you haven't ever met in person.!!! Really?Then when I didn't do what he wanted to do the communication started to decrease. I Thank GOD for clarification and confirmation.
John
April 30, 2019
Anyone hear of a scammer named GoodKendra22 @gmail .com? Apparently getting money directly deposited in Green Dot accounts?
NZGurl18
April 25, 2019
Ronald Maverick Carson, AKA Carson Ronald, AKA Roland Maverick Carson. Anyone come across this guy run, run fast and far away. I fell into the scam and I'm an idiot. Love blinds everything. I wish I could post pictures of him. So he can be found and imprisoned for life.
NYchick
July 20, 2019

In reply to by NZGurl18

Ronald Maverick Carson uses OK Cupid claiming that he’s a solar engineer on his way to Nigeria. He even sent me a fake delta airline boarding pass thinking I won’t do a simple google search. He’s definitely a scammer. Keep out!
Frustrated Relative
January 03, 2020

In reply to by NYchick

Roland Maverick is now claiming to be a car dealer and/or a businessman/contractor in China who is then imprisoned and who gets very sick. He’s taken my mom for a lot of money. I believe he targeted her on Facebook.
Frustrated Relative
January 03, 2020

In reply to by NYchick

I forgot to mention that he also tried the fraudulent bank account scheme on my mom as well. The car dealer/businessman in China routine was used in the fall 2019 to present.
washington
April 25, 2019
Are there any stories where scammers come back after weeks, months, or years to revisit victims?
BluedDon't use…
April 25, 2019
I have a friend who is in her 60s , living on social security, and has been talking with this guy for 3 years. I dont know tons, but he has said that he is on a secret mission and she cant tell me anything else. But, he said he was in Syria, and she helped him out. Then he made it to somewhere else, and is supposed to be in south Africa now, and needs 20,000 us to get home to Idaho. If there is a mission why cant the company get him out? I suspect a scam, but she wont listen, is there anything I can do?
Stoney13
April 26, 2019
Benson_clair on Instagram sob story of parents dying in fatal crash and about her boyfriend cheating on her. She then goes on talking about her struggling with money. So she sent me a gorgeous pic of "herself" so I did a reverse look up with her pic and found her as an escort along with other titles.
jennyfromphilly
April 26, 2019
Anyone heard of a guy Daniel Earnest.. works on pipelines widow.. wants to transfer almost a million into a friends name.. geez. These people are nuts!
simbadog1
April 27, 2019
So what's up with the iPhone cards? What are they for?
Smart girl
April 27, 2019
My friend was approached by a man on LinkedIn who called himself Engineer Alex. They communicated through linked in for a while before switching to whatsapp. They talked on the phone multiple times daily and messaged constantly. He never came out and asked for money but he did tread lightly when discussing bitcoin and of course he’s in they oil industry trying to get an independent contract valued at $1mm. He has multiple linked in profiles as a medical dr, veterinarian and oil worker. He also has several online dating profiles there are at least 100 different pictures of him and yes he’s very handsome, has a Swiss accent and is very suave. Beware ladies these cowards are predators with no qualms about defrauding you. If it sounds too good to be true it is.
Kathy
April 27, 2019
There's a military man from Turkey named John Thomson asking me for money ...5500.to get his brief case from Australia. Saying his brief case with money and personal documents are in it from a company that he says that is folding up closing business...its Hidrosecurity.com. There's a website with this business ..it all looks legit but I think it's a scam....has this happened to anyone else...
Di
April 27, 2019
Anyone talk with a David McCord....in Yemen, Peacekeeping mission? $ involved
Beingplayed19
April 28, 2019
So about 5 weeks ago this guy found me on instagram and started talking to me on there. He said he was from California and was a surgeon. After a few days he said hey let’s chat on google hangout. So we did after talking and him saying oh I love you I want to come visit you blah blah blah.We talked everyday day Morin message, midday messages and night late night messages. He they said he was having problems getting financed for his new clinic he wants to open up. I told him no and that started a huge fight. Like big so we stop talking. He got mad when I called him out about being a scammer. And was pissed. He messaged me again and made comments how easy it was for me to for and we started talking again. And now just yesterday he said he wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t go to work but his service for his phone isn’t working right and neither are his apps to message or anything. But asked me to get 2-$100 iTunes cards for him. Just to get him to drop it I said I will see what I can do. Well today he is mad because I never did it and I guess I don’t care about him. At first when he asked for help with the clinic I gave him benefit of the doubt best from day one I knew what he wanted to open. But then he got pissy and then the iTunes cards. Come on. My family is mad at me for still talking to him. As of today. But no money has been sent and there won’t be.
CMC
June 17, 2019

In reply to by Beingplayed19

Uh-oh this sounds very familiar. Are you able to say his username on instagram? Please?
Shelley1234
April 28, 2019
I've been chatting with a guy for a month now, no mention of sex or money, til last night. He is a contractor in Dubai and suddenly has a bunch of fees to pay and has all but $1500. I have nothing and told him so. His tone def changed. We have been texting on google chat since we "met" on pof. We have even video chatted and his pics are the same as the video. How do you do an image search???
Lynn
June 07, 2019

In reply to by Shelley1234

SHELLEY1234..i also know a man thats stuck in dubai,does he go by the name jason? And does he have a child?
Rdy1960
August 17, 2020

In reply to by Shelley1234

What name does he go under. Is it Jeongil, or Kim, Ileuy? About 51/52 yra old from Seoul, Korea? Did he say he's been working in Dubai for 18yrs now, and has saved a ton of money? Let me know I have images of him with passport, and driver license he sent me. Also has Trustoffshore trust account. Same guy?
heartbroken in…
April 29, 2019
Ladies question anyone hear of a James Scoot James Ken or a James Calvert I’m afarid Ive been scammed dupped He’s a Private Doctor he lives out of San Diego CA He promised me a new car a house money marriage anything I want He’s stuck in Europe He’s Swedish He owes me 1400
Sounds Familiar
April 30, 2019

In reply to by heartbroken in…

Is he young, 6'0ft tall, very handsome, takes pics with a Dr. Coat, stethoscope around his neck, dark hair, Spanish looking. Honey he is a scammer. Don't waste your time.
just Me
April 29, 2019
How do I post pic of whom I believe trying scam on hangout
Betty bob
April 29, 2019
I been chatting with a soldier deployed to Nigeria from Texas on secret mission at the British tobacco company. For the past.8 weeks he goes by Raymond.
Audgar
May 02, 2019

In reply to by Betty bob

Does he say "coy" alot and says he has 2 daughters? I chatted with a Robert raymond guy says he's an officer in the army and asked me for a google card because their internet is getting expired I blocked him
Confused
April 29, 2019
Has anyone who there been scamed by a girl called Salamatu Johnson /Maddy Laura pretty sure my son is being scamed
Amethysy
April 30, 2019
Talking to a supposed detective in the military now. I cant write to him at first hood?? His number is searching as a Florida number no reverse images found and he has to register for video calling supposedly have a video call later we will see. He hasn't asked yet but have told.him do NOT ask me for money
Berryj
April 30, 2019
I've met scammers on her app and now getting scammed by millions of Facebook users and people on words with friends getting tired of them all
Star lass
April 30, 2019
Anyone tell me if they have encountered a Ralph Patrick Walters? Supposed American Air Force intelligence officer ?
72
May 03, 2019

In reply to by Star lass

Yes I have, I called him out because I didn’t think he was real, he’s called me names & told me I’d regret it
jules
April 30, 2019
I don't know if my last comment up loaded. Good looking guy said he was 57. I commented on a face book page called Santa Claus many people do like the site. Don't use or comment any more. Was just harmless flurting to begin with then I became the perfect woman. Wasn't asked for anything for weeks. Many many calls and messages but I had been lonely for a very long time. So wanted to believe some one wanted me joke. But any how not lost as much as you guys. Just scared this could all get me into trouble.
Sgurl
April 30, 2019
Robert Denver, words with Friends, widow story, children in boarding school.
Spam31
May 01, 2019
I started talking to a guy named Carlos claims hes from Puerto Rico but in the American military hes been sent on a training mission in Nigeria of all places and asked me to send $300 for medication is he just another scammer . I have Google searched his image and nothing has came up
natasha
May 02, 2019
a man sent a request on Facebook and started to chat. He said his wife died in a car accident 2 yrs back and has 2 small daughters. he used to send me pics also.He said he is from UK glasgow. But when i saw his location on FB it showed Hyderabad. When i asked him the same, he said his account is hacked and he deleted the FB account. He started chating me on whats app. a very handsome looking man. He planned to come to India. He came in April to my country and the moment he reached, a lady called me stating that she is from the customs and said that he has been caught with 40000GBP which is undeclared. I paid 5.2 lack INR to different accounts to take him out of that trap. He went to the British High commission and they asked him to pay 1.25 lacs again to get the AML certificate. As i didnt have the last asked money to pay, i was so frustrated that i called him a fraud and he blocked me. Now i dont have any means to contact him. How can i find out if he was a fraud or innocent. Can his pictures help as i have a lot of them with me
Hemmings71
May 02, 2019
Just wondering if anyone is speaking to a Micheal Shevlin73 who is deployed in Turkey on a peace mission been speaking for just over a month but last week he asked me if I could help him out with a iTunes card so stupid me got him a £50 one and sent him the code not thinking then this week he told me he hadn't got alot of money left for food (junk food) and yesterday 1/5/19 he asked if I could lend him £200 and he would pay me back when he gets paid well alarm bells started ringing and I said no and that the iTunes card was a one off well last night he asked again for help and I told him no and not to ask again since then I haven't heard off him so just wondering if anyone else is speaking to him
SmileyKylie
May 02, 2019
I've had a girl but name of christabel keen say she is on a secret mission I'm Syria and cant access her money and asked me to wire $200 through. Lucky in found this site
Kaz
May 02, 2019
Hi a guy by the name of James Tyler started talking to me on Instagram. He said his in the US Marines stationed in Iraq. When I said I was wary abt scammers he got angry and didn't talk to me for a few hours. I asked him for a recent picture of him and can we do FaceTime so I can see who I'm talking to and he gave me a story about its not allowed cause he was on classified missions. He hasn't asked me for anything as yet. But something tells me it's coming. Has anyone heard of James Tyler
LM
May 08, 2019

In reply to by Kaz

Kaz, How can we get in touch? I'd be curious to see what the man that has talked to you looks like or what his Instagram page looks like. I have a guy namesdJames Tyler I believe is trying to scam me. He has sent me many photos. The pics are of a very attractive and well built man. He told me that he used to be a US Marine, but is in project management and is stuck in the Philippines because he needs 25,000 to fulfill this "contract" to get building supplies shipped there. There so much more to share with what he has said! His wife died of cancer and his 8 year old daughter is staying with people in Washington or Oregon. He had been working in Maui and before that Miami. He'd been trying to get me to send him money to fulfill this '"contract". Acting like I am his only hope to get this contract and acts like he is stuck in the Philippines.
Heidi
February 04, 2020

In reply to by LM

I have aslo met a man from Instagram a year ago ur numbers are just the same needs 25,000 to finishe job. Likes to get amazon cards now google. Told me he was going to jail . I know people he uses from washington and Oregon to pick up money gram then buy cards to send to him.
Rick brown
May 02, 2019
And I do also know how it feels to be scammed I am also a victim of this online scamming crap also I am so tired of online scammers I meant this lady online her name is Mary Smith so she says the thing that really made her so attractive was her looks she kept asking me to send her some money so she could fly all the way out here to Texas she claimed that her grandparents and her mother and father both died is she said that there's a house that is left behind just for her she quit calling me and texting me for at least 2 weeks and then I finally get another message my phone blinked twice and there were two messages and it came from Mary I really don't know if that's really her name last name is Smith middle name Jane she kept asking me for money after she claimed that her so-called lawyer flew her to Nigeria I was pretty stupid for sending so much money to her for the past year and 6 months I have already lost over $1,200 I don't know if she's doing this to other people she would keep her picture on the phone her picture would be online the person that she says that she so-called identifies herself to be I really don't know if she's really the person that she says that she is she said that she needed some money to get on the airplane so she could fly to Texas she never made it she claims that she wanted to marry me and take me to Aurora Colorado and there she sent me a picture of the house this house looks somewhat like a castle but in the middle of a desert I started putting some things together it doesn't look like Colorado from here I was expecting her to text when she got offline she claims that she would check up on me just to make sure that I was okay she was trying to ask for my i d my social and my bank account number I will not give it to her she claims that she has 80 billion dollars left behind from her grandparents I know she's working and she lives in Nigeria why is she always telling lies all I know is that she would leave her phone number on the text block above where I can see her phone number I never heard from her again so I assume that she is actually scamming other people if anyone thinks more than once and they think twice about it or three times think about the people that are scamming this person has no heart has no soul she sends me pictures of her in the nude with her legs in front of her with no shoes smiling sending me a picture of her private part showing me how she dresses and sends me a picture of her coming out of the shower I was pretty shocked at what I had seen her English is very much broken it sounds like she cannot speak English that well and all she does is ask for money the first person that she looked at was me and she asked me for money yes I fell for it like a fool but then I had to turn things around and stop texting her as soon as her identity disappeared the next 2 weeks later I see the name Mary Smith again this time the picture looked different this one was skinnier the upper torso was smaller her torso from the lower half was someone kind of thick and she has this pretty smile trying to see if she can get me to send her $200 she says that she wants to get married I don't think she really does I don't know if she really has kids or if she's living on her own in Nigeria she claims that she lived in Orlando Florida and says that there's a house there in Orlando near the beach the so-called House in Aurora Colorado I really don't know about so I left it all up I don't know who else is getting scammed by this Mary Jane Smith if you see her picture on your phone long black hair with a little bit of highlight on it that's her she has a baby smile and dresses very very nice the way that she dresses is very shocking and she gets on Instagram she likes to ask certain ones to go on Instagram so she can get them to send her some money she claims that she doesn't have an account where she's at right now I really can't figure it out myself but I'm going to get this whole thing put together hopefully I can get two and two put together she is a big-time scammer I do not want to see any more scammers on the Facebook line anytime someone starts scamming they will talk to you for at least 24 to 48 hours until they get what they want wait I tried to text her Mary had a block put on her phone then she would text me back two to three weeks later and try to apologize for the phone blockage she claims that the phone company is blocking her she's the one that's blocking people so if you ever run across a lady with a baby face and some green eyes and a shocking smile don't give in because she will scam for money if anyone else had met her online please let me know because I am tired of being scammed and I really want to get my money back so I hope that the Federal Bureau Investigation well get in on this and hopefully they will get caught just like I said if anyone else I met this Mary Jane Smith online please text me back and let me know
bass
May 02, 2019
Anyone been scammed by an oil rig engineer who calls himself Travis Jefferson? Says he's from Brooklyn, New York? Divorced. One daughter age 7. Claims to be 66 years old. His picture is of a handsome man. I am certain the picture is not him.