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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.
  • 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.

Lynn000
January 10, 2020
This guy I'm talking to swears hes the real guy and people have used his name. He asked me to video chat to prove its him. Is that legit? Why would he want me to see him on video if he was a fake? He has also not asked for anything from me except that I pray for him during duty.
WiserNow Don't…
January 12, 2020

In reply to by Lynn000

Be careful. My scammer also ask me to video chat with him. I was thrill as I thought that meant he was the real thing. However, when we went into the chat I could see him but not hear him. He said something might have been wrong with the microphone. Now I now that if the person they stole the photos from also had videos they use them without voice to be more convincing. They probably just play them in a computer and point their telephone camera to it. So, unless you can have a conversation with him/her do not believe just the image.
xenazkm
January 13, 2020

In reply to by Lynn000

Anybody talking to this guy Mark Johnson from California whose wife died 3 years ago and he has 14 years old son in a boarding school. He is a medical doctor in Somalia serving MSF and he cannot call for security reasons and just asked me to pay for his ticket to visit me as he does not have access to his bank there. He send me such a funny account in Dallas. I asked him for his passport copy but apparently he does not have it and it is against the contract policy. Everything seems suspicious about him.
Margie
January 10, 2020
I am not sure if this is the same catfisher that I met through a Catholic dating site. He told me his first name is Williams and last name is David. He is an environmental engineer living in Milwaukee and has two kids in their twenties studying at Purdue. His wife died of breast cancer ten years ago. In 24 hours, he went from saying that he wanted friendship first to saying that I was the one. Red flag right there. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, he sent me a video of the breakfast he was making for his son. On Christmas day he sent me the exact same video with the exact same email content, in which he mentions three bible verses and wants me to check them out, when I had already given him my opinion on those verses the day before. Receiving the same email twice was a huge red flag. No wonder why the emails he sent me would only mention my name at the very beginning of the content. In the rest of each email, he would refer to me as "my dear." He probably copies and pastes the text to send to several victims. I told him he accidentally sent me the same email twice, just to make sure it wasn’t an honest mistake. When he wrote back, his writing style was different and he did not respond about the duplicate email he sent. I have a feeling that the catfisher is not one person but a team and that the pictures he sent me are of a man who was catfished by these same people. Oh, and the scammer kept insisting I send him my phone number, but I did not. I told him to send me his, and that is when he stopped writing.
Terry Dixon
January 11, 2020
My new soldier wants me to claim his luggage from Iran..Is that legal???
TRUE
January 11, 2020
I have a great liar on my hands.Max Edmonston..Watch out he has asked for a cellphone and a very expensive care package.I want fall for it..
Antoni
January 11, 2020
hi. sent a girl to the messenger the name of mary johnson. and after the classical discussion that someone is looking for a wedding she asked us to talk to whatsapp.I asked her to make a video call but she told me she had broken her cellphone.after that I blocked it.her phone is +1{917}933-5235.
Docalirobn't u…
January 11, 2020
Their is a girl,that has been scamming me for 6 mos. And I found out who she was today,thru my daughter, I have a lot gift cards,can I get my money back from Steam and Nordstrom
Docalirobn't u…
January 11, 2020
Its Jan 11,2020, I was told by the law enforcement, that I could get a refund on my gift cards that I send her thru,Steam an Nordstrom who can see to get
JBode
January 11, 2020
IG scammer named nacybian beware on hangouts as Nancy Brian also
Simone
January 12, 2020
He/she telling he/she were the actor Kevin Bacon. Story about how he were not happy anymore woth his wife, finally finding a new love in you.... ended up with the old story about you need to recieve a package for him, including family treasures and money. Don't fall for it!
hushedorchid
January 12, 2020
Anyone dealt with Trey Abdul or Hussain Abdul. Claims he lives in UAE. 39 years old bday is feb 7. Wife left him for his best friend. Has a 12 year old son and his elderly mother. Is a marine engineer.
Lostinlove
January 25, 2020

In reply to by hushedorchid

Yes, I have heard of him. Stories are exactly the same.
Lostinlove
February 09, 2020

In reply to by hushedorchid

hushedorchid, Have you ever heard from Trey Abdul again?
hushedorchid
February 26, 2020

In reply to by Lostinlove

Lostinlove Yes. I have. Have you?
Lostinlove
March 03, 2020

In reply to by hushedorchid

Hushedorchid, not heard from him for a few weeks. But he asked the same of me and for other things.
Lilly
February 22, 2020

In reply to by hushedorchid

Yes I’ve heard of him did he ask you to send money through for his son?
hushedorchid
February 26, 2020

In reply to by Lilly

Yes he did. He said he was on a contract job and his 12 year old son was in boarding school. He said his kid got “bullied” and he needed money to eat because the food the school provided him wasn’t enough.
Hushedorchid
May 02, 2020

In reply to by hushedorchid

Lostinlove, lilly....he’s back at it again. I noticed he hadn’t used his hangouts account for a while. He started using it again because he has a new profile picture on it. But I still can’t find him on IG. Most definitely he’s using the same pictures but with a different name.
Lana
December 02, 2020

In reply to by Hushedorchid

Has he been in contact with you recently? I heard from him requesting money for meds for his mum. Yada Yada
Cynthia
January 12, 2020
I met a guy names Jackie Moe from Houston, TX claim to be an engineer working in Syria. He initially as for a gift card during Christmas to reload money on his phone. Last week, he.asked for $1000 to return back to the US. The claimed to be divorced with two kids. It's hard to believe how they emotionally lure you in.
AzG
January 12, 2020
My guys name Jeffery Watten, he messaged me on WWF 2. He said he was a contracted orthopedic surgeon living on the military base in Kabul, Afghanistan, but he lived in St. George Utah. He said he had a 13 son living with his grandparents beccause his divorced wife had died. Over the course of us talking he changed the spelling and ways he wrote his WWF profile name. He used Jeff W, Jef W, Jeffery Watten, And Jeffery Wat. So I knew something was up, but I played along anyway and had some fun with it along the way. He said they used public phones and signed into them at work. He sent me an email to get a private phone so I could talk to him even when he wasn't working. The email wasn't official at all and the broken English was comical. Although this was fun for me, be careful and don't ever talk to someone who cannot verify their identity.
jo
January 13, 2020
as anyone come across someone call Craig Olsen he says he a surgeon and he in Germany he will ask for your bank info and amazons when you don't give him then he start swearing and call you all the names under the sun
Margie
January 13, 2020
I met catfisher Williams Wiltord David on catholicmatch.com. He claims to be an environmental engineer living in Milwaukee and has two kids in their twenties studying at Purdue. His wife died of breast cancer ten years ago. In 24 hours, he went from saying that he wanted friendship first to saying that I was the one. Red flag right there. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, he sent me a video of the breakfast he was making for his son. On Christmas day he sent me the exact same video with the exact same email content, in which he mentions three bible verses and wants me to check them out, when I had already given him my opinion on those verses the day before. Receiving the same email twice was a huge red flag. No wonder why the emails he sent me would only mention my name at the very beginning of the content. In the rest of each email, he would refer to me as "my dear." He probably copies and pastes the text to send to several victims. I told him he accidentally sent me the same email twice, just to make sure it wasn’t an honest mistake. When he wrote back, his writing style was different and he did not respond about the duplicate email he sent. I have a feeling that the catfisher is not one person but a team and that the pictures he sent me are of a man who was catfished by these same people. Oh, and the scammer kept insisting I send him my phone number, but I did not. I told him to send me his, and that is when he stopped writing.
K@1962
January 14, 2020
Does anyone know a dan Philip's on a oil rig in Puerto Rico's now or a james cook in turkey
lmcd
January 14, 2020
Has anyone ever been scammed by a man named saying his name is Martins John? Claiming to be Italian & working in Dubai? Says he has a daughter in the US?
kmoo
January 14, 2020
My friend was scammed by a James Ben Scott on plenty of fish. Claimed to be a contractor working in London. he had the sweet talker thing down and eventually said he needed apple cards to complete his work assignment. Unfortunately my friend was scammed out of $1,000 in apple cards. She went back the next day to get some more because apparently that wasn't enough but the manager at the Apple Store denied her purchase and told her about girls being scammed. I'm so glad he denied the purchase and put seeds of doubt in her mind over this. When confronted, he back peddled, then said he'd kill himself, blah blah blah, and then tried to money again. People are ridiculous. Be safe out there folks.
Cynthia
March 10, 2020

In reply to by kmoo

This sounds like the guy I met named Jackie Moe. I also wanted $1000 iTunes and threatened to kill himself. I wish o could hois picture.
Morner
January 14, 2020
A military soldier wants me to use his email and password to set up account with Shorthop Bitcoin, it's only available in 6 or 7 states didn't do it want to find out more info
Lucy
January 14, 2020
David o'brien (walsh, o'callaghan, o'Gorman, ) says he a contractor from FL. He is good at telling you exactly what you want to hear. The english accent, poor widower w/ small child, etc. Liar! Even had his "mum" call me, told me he was working in india and had his wallet & passport stolen. Promised to pay back everything. Businesses, ph # and pics all fake. Beware of this jerk!
BabyGirl
January 15, 2020
Ladies all you have to do is google oil rig scammers and they pics of everyone you are talking about they have a section for military me too. Hope this helps you
Bill
January 15, 2020
I met a woman (?) on POF and she said she was buying Antiques and gems from Egypt. Turns out she scammed me out of thousands of dollars. I bought computers and sent to UAE ,wired money and gift cards. All was promised to repay (trust me to the end) was what she always said. Then after all the money end no response . DON'T trust pof!!!
wee t
January 15, 2020
Hi looking for some help.. been talking to a man for 2 years now.. goes by the name Harry Richardson says he’s from Seattle... is a lieutenant and is in Afghanistan... said he could access his cards etc over there. Then finally flying to see me he says but now he’s claiming to be held in turkey customs and is needing bailed out... said he has a lot of money on him and cause he has t declared it there holding him.. he’s needs 2000 pounds... just wondering if anyone has heard this name and story
"Heartbroken V…
January 15, 2020
I am so Heartbroken, I believed this man Tinder.His name is Michael Copeland & he wanted me to wire across WorldRemit. To another Person of the name of Terry Sande who lives in Kenya. He confessed his Love, we made Promises only to find it was all lies, Stupid Vunerable me gave my Bank Details . Now I am scared & heartbroken. I cant believe that i have been sucked in, like i did. I am so hurt by this as today, I also found out one of my mates just died from Cancer, so not good at all.
Diamond 123
May 23, 2020

In reply to by "Heartbroken V…

I'm sorry, I'm talking to two scammers, and God will get them all soon. He will Strength you and give all of your Hopes back. I'm scamming them now. Keep your head up.
Tinny YoYo 99
January 16, 2020
I have resisted several attempts at romance scams via Tinder but want to remind everyone that it might not just be requests for money but also identity theft so do not give out personal details, including your date of birth
elderprotectionhero
January 16, 2020
James Rowland or James Row or Rowe it changes. Is using grindr to scam elderly gay men. Please be aware there is no real "Gold" he is shipping. He asks for money because he is an overseas doctor that cannot get into his accounts. AVOID him he is a scammer and took a family member already.
irene
January 21, 2020

In reply to by elderprotectionhero

what do you mean took a family member already? what did he do?
Lisa
January 17, 2020
Hello. Anyone got lovemessages from Max Taylor, Idaho Springs. US military in Afghanistan. Now it suddenly costs money to meet him in person. I'm sure it's scam!
Momscam
January 18, 2020
My Mother has been getting scammed by a Miller Peterson for several years. I have found on the internet that he is a scammer and have been trying to educate her, but she won't talk about it. She has sent him money. Seriously, I would like to find that guy myself and report him. My Mother is turning 74 in April and thinks she getting married to a younger man who is successful. He's out of the country in Scotland, by the way, so he doesn't have access to his money. How convenient. I get so irritated and worried about her, but she is so emotionally involved that she won't listen. Not sure what I can do.
Kristen R
January 29, 2020

In reply to by Momscam

I’m having the same problem with my mom. Her actions have led to her and my father divorcing. My heart goes out to you. I want to find the men my mom talks and sends money to as well.
Barrett
January 18, 2020
I am texting to a General we have been communicating for 6 years he tells me he has two names and one is General James Terry has anyone been in contact with him
Immortal Beloved
January 18, 2020
Hi, I was scammed by a man on Facebook who quickly moved to Hangouts. Said his name was Davidson Lee which became David Pour Anderson on Hangouts. Very similar background to what others have said. No parents, wife dead small boy back in Oregon being cared for by a nanny. Cost me $6000 in the end. Do not get into conversation with him. Now on Tinder for one week and already my match is asking for an iTunes card. He’s a US General waiting to go on a peacekeeping’ mission to Yemen. Despite me telling him what happened before, he’s telling me I am his future wife and believes I will send him the card. His profile is that of a US Ambassodor. He is going to get nothing from me apart from being blocked and reported.
DodgedABullet
January 18, 2020
The guy I've been talking to for about 3 weeks goes by the name Rob Stanley. Claims he lives nearby but got called out of the country for work as a civil engineer doing an expansion on an oil refinery. Has an adult daughter who is sick and in the hospital but she too just got transferred to another hospital out of state when I offered to help her while he was out of the country. He sounds Hispanic, claims to be American and Moldovan. Love-bombed me - over the top and today asked me for an Iphone 11 Pro and an IPad Pro - uhm, nope. Met him on Match; claimed he closed his profile but I think he just blocked me so I couldn't report him. Glad I found out sooner rather than later. Be careful out there, ladies!
caredpar2020
January 18, 2020
Hey guys. This girl has an obsession with me. Her name is Vida Amegbe and she found me in Facebook. We were talking for a Long time. She is from Ghana and told me a los of nice stories. I actually was not interested in a serious relationship. However, I did a mistake. She asked me for my Whatsapp phone number and I gave It to her with the Excuse of Someone hacking her Facebook account. At that moment, she was told me about her dreams and goals. She told me that in her country is hard to get a job and Colleges are expensive. She was pretending first to begin a relationship and I said no, let's be friends. Then, we begin having trouble because she did not ask for help to get a job or affording College. Just two Days ago, she asked me for money and I told her I cannot send it because I don't earn too much money. That is why I ask for some organization for help in those circumstances. In that moment she felt some nervous in her mails. I knew what was the real deal. I have sent a report to FTC and I had Block her phone. This girl have used today, again a new phone number asking me to talk and I have Block this new number. Is a very serious booth operator. I am thinking in change my cellphone with a new phone number.
Scammed by oil…
January 19, 2020
Says he's from Switzerland widow . wife died in car accident 13 year old girl in boarding school Georgia. God fearing man Sending me his contract money from Shell Exxon 2.5 million. But customs got it along with United Nations diplomat who was bringing it To US airport in New York. Customs wanted fees over and over paid out wired close 200,000. My life is a mess still talking to him and still in love. Says sweetest words on earth. Anyone involved with Alex Dominic? White man late 50's very attractive trimmed beard. I have many photos of him and his daughter
Juliet
January 20, 2020
I was scammed by a person who used photos by Michael Rosenberger. I have seen in the comments that I am not alone and I am reporting everything to the Police but I need to know if Michael Rosenberger is extraneous to these scams or not.
Tigger
January 20, 2020
I can’t believe I just fell for a scammer. I was at a vulnerable time in my life and fell for a fake USAF General through Facebook. I feel so stupid, but have learned a lot through this awful experience.
Grace1
January 20, 2020
This just happened to my mom . His name is Benjamin Gray from Roosevelt Island NY. Went overseas to work. Met on plenty of fish. He was charming and sweet they went back and forth with texts and calls for serval weeks. Suppose to meet up in Miami Florida after he got home. Instead asked her to go to the Apple store to purchase laptops that he needed for work . When he asked her to use her credit card she realized it was a scam.
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