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Looking to start a new relationship? For some, that may mean meeting a new love interest online. Word to the wise: sometimes it’s best to lead with your head and not your heart.

Millions of Americans use dating sites, social networking sites, and chat rooms to meet people. And many forge successful relationships. But scammers also use these sites to meet potential victims. They create fake profiles to build online relationships, and eventually convince people to send money in the name of love.

The Federal Trade Commission receives thousands of reports each year about romance scammers who create fake online relationships only to steal their victims’ money.

Unfortunately, an online love interest who asks for money is almost certainly a scam artist.

The FTC’s new infographic, developed with the American Bankers Association Foundation, lists common signs of online dating scams and what to do if someone you meet online asks you for money.

Below are some tips to identify a real romance versus a scammer cruising for a target.

Online Dating Scams. Has an online love interest asked you for money? That's a scam. Scammers know millions of people use online dating sites. They are there, too, hiding behind fake profiles. Signs of a scam: Professes love quickly. Claims to be from the U.S., but is overseas for business or military service. Asks for money, and lures you off the dating site. Claims to need money — for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel. Plans to visit, but can’t because of an emergency. $220 million lost in 2016. $56 million lost in 2012. Reports to the FBI tripled over 5 years (4,476 reports in 2012; 14,546 reports in 2016) What to do: Slow down — and talk to someone you trust. Don’t let a scammer rush you. Never wire money, put money on a gift or cash reload card, or send cash to an online love interest. You won’t get it back. Contact your bank right away if you think you’ve sent money to a scammer. Report your experience to: • The online dating site • Federal Trade Commission: ftc.gov/complaint • Federal Bureau of Investigation: ic3.gov. Learn more at ftc.gov/imposters and aba.com/engagement

Please share this information with others. Victims may be embarrassed to talk about their experiences, but you can help. A simple phone call, email or text, saying “Look what I just found” and sharing this information may make a difference in someone else’s life.

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.

Frustrated Friend
June 19, 2018
I know my best friend is being scammed by this guy who says his name is Reagan S. Meyers. Within the first week she and he were talking through Messenger, he said he fell in love with her. About a month into the "relationship", he wanted her to either get rid of her Facebook account or to give him her log in credentials. He claims to be a 57 year old Special Ops in the US Army, in Syria. He has Skyped with her, on his laptop that's apparently set up in his bunk. He had a Facebook page, but all it had on it was a brief description of his job in the Army, his age, and claiming he's from Minnesota. He supposedly has a large farm there. He's a widower with a 14 year old son. Supposedly he was able to set up a three way phone call a couple of months back so my friend could meet his son. So many red flags: Besides asking for her FB password, he has a "weird" accent that my friend doesn't recognize. He says he was born in Texas, but it's not a Texas accent. He says he's going to be back in the states in August, and he will come get her, and they will get married and live happily ever after. (yeah, right.) About 5 months into it, he asked her to buy him a new cell phone because his was destroyed during "maneuvers". He says he was shot in the arm that night and since it was strapped to his upper arm, it was blown to pieces. She bought the phone and had it shipped to some kind of postal office in Turkey. Three weeks later, he tells my friend that he needs her help. He can't get the phone yet, because customs wants $600 for tariffs. Now, my friend is disabled and is not working. She's waiting on her hearing for federal disability. She is living with her almost ex-boyfriend. She has no money. He then says for her to send $300. She says she can't. He starts trying to convince her, and then tries to make her feel guilty about it. But now, whenever I ask her about how things are going with him, all she'll tell me is "He's fine, it's all fine." Personally, I suspect she did send the money, and she doesn't want to tell me, because she knows I'll get on her case for it. I really want to show her this site, but I know it will break her heart. All she wants is someone who will love her the way she loves them, and instead she's getting scammed.
luvviexx
June 20, 2018
Hi ive been asked by a Contractor working for the UN Peace keeping Mission in Syria, to pay for a vacation certificate $1550, so he can come home to the US then come to the UK to Marry me, he has a 16 yr daughter staying at a boarding school his wife supposedly died of cancer, His name on Hangouts is John Stewart..im 98% sure he is a scammer, plz advise !
Ijustlookstupid
June 21, 2018
How can we let people know that their pictures are being all over the Internet due to these scammers
Not2day
June 22, 2018
Has anyone spoken to a Mike Hyatt a major in the US army currently in Syria from Raleigh, NC with a bank in Arizona? He wants to retire and is willing to do so because of his love for me. He is asking for money.
curious2018
June 22, 2018
My friend has met a guy on plenty of fish, he has had dominoes pizza sent to her twice and sent her two phones to use she says they are apple 6s and they came new in the box. He has asked for money she told him she didn't have any so he laid off for a bit. Now he has sent her clothes to send over to Ghana for him to the military police, is there anyway she could get into trouble for this oh and he is also sending her 5 phones as well to be sent over there. He really has sweet talked her and I am concerned. thank you
FTC Staff
June 22, 2018

In reply to by curious2018

Some scammers ask people to help them transfer stolen merchandise, or merchandise purchased with stolen credit cards or fake checks. 

Scammers may pretend to hire people as "correspondence clerks" and say they will pay the clerks to receive and send merchandise.  Other scammers meet people online and ask their new sweethearts to receive and send goods.

If your friend gets involved in a scheme like this, it may be that she is receiving and shipping stolen goods, or goods bought with a stolen credit card or fake checks. If she tells a scammer her bank account so he can deposit money to pay for shipping, he can take her money.

Fooled2018
July 02, 2018
My sister and I have been talking to two men the past 4 months. They both claim to be from the us and are working overseas with United nations. They seemed charming and real. But now their attuide has changed towards us. They would ask for us to send money to them and would even get rude or nasty if we told them we couldnt. We also found out they had a friend who was scamming older women out of their money and having it sent to them. The basic on were coming home to see y'all and a few days before said their was a issue with one of their contacts and that they needed money for a ticket to fly home. If you see anyone on Facebook message you by the names of Daniel Montes or Don(Klint Mike) or ask you to use hangouts with the email donklintmike1@ gmail.com or a user name Strata Basil DO NOT RESPOND.
Love Fool
July 02, 2018
About a month ago I became friends with a very attractive woman who is less than half my age. A few days after, we exchanges messages and emails . Before long, she said I was the man she was looking for all her life and we were destined to be married. It was unreal so fast. After a week of serious exchanges, she suddenly asked for money for some food , etc. I sent her 500. Several days later another 800. Soon after , she went on a trip overseas so I wired her 500 to a contact in Nigeria, then 300 more also to Nigeria for a total of 2100 US plus Western Union fees. A clerk figured that if I sent her money to someone in Nigeria while she was in Europe, it was a scam. She is a professing Christian and seems so genuine . Makes me feel so great and blessed. She wants to marry me though we have never met or even had a proper phone conversation due to poor reception. Seems too good to be true. I suspect I am being scammed .
SethNickel
June 23, 2018
This girl say can you buy me a iTunes card plzz and if you don't my service will run out
Anitahoskin
June 23, 2018
I met guy on social media fbook n he claims is in army n very busy. He wants too come here too Australia but claims he needs access too his inheritance that is getting with held till $1200 is paid. He apparently doesn't have money too get his money n he asked me too pay the $1200 in order for money too be given too him. Two days prior he proposes too me with beautiful ring n two days after asks me for money too get access to his inheritance. I love him but I'm scared at same time. Feel he scamming me. How I know he not going too let me down n hurt me. Apart of me finds this dodgy n scam n doesn't want too send but cuz love him a lot I want too. We don't communicate much as he busy n in army. How I know if he true n real n not fake n scammer
FTC Staff
July 02, 2018

In reply to by Anitahoskin

If you meet someone online, and he starts talking about love, but then he asks for your money, it's usually a scam. If you send him money, you will probably lose it. He might tell you stories to distract you, but he will keep asking for money. It's not safe to send money to someone you never met in person, and don't really know.

Looking for Love
June 23, 2018
I also got the story of the guy working on an oil rig, equipment failed, would pay me back with interest, this was after two months of getting acquainted. Professing love, never met. Come on. Another one was building a home for children in Africa, credit card wasn’t working. If you can’t meet someone face to face, don’t waste your time, they’re scammers.
I2beenscam
June 24, 2018
I was just scam but this guy using the name Anthony Black wanting I-tune card little did I know this was a scam he got me for over $350 in cards now you can't reach him when I told him I'm contacting the police.
kookie163
June 25, 2018
I started talking with this guy on Interpals. He convinced me weeks after to communicate by text. So I did. He told me he was falling in love and that he esos life together. Of course I played along with his game to see how far he will go. Well what happened was he asked me to open a suntrust account for him, of course I didn’t. Then after 2 weeks he asked me to buy a green dot card so the company deposit his money, so after a long conversation he told me that once the money is deposited into the card the only thing I have to do is take the money from the card and send the money to him in China through Western Union or Money Gram. I confronted him and I told him he was a scammer. Of course he denied it and I told him that he was dealing with the wrong girl.
Not dumb2018
June 25, 2018
Was asked by a man named John Wilson on messenger if we got be friends and talk. I, not suspecting anything wrong says OK. Boy was that the wrong thought. I have been sweet talked for a couple days then all the sudden hit with can you send me 2000. I said no, didn't speak for few days then sweet words again and I was an love of his life and than all the sudden his daughter was "our daughter, and I was his wife and I needed you send money for our daughter schooling. " again said no. No speak for couple days. Long story short he had continually asked over the last 4 weeks for thousands of dollars and iTunes cards. And as soon as i say I can't, he gets down right hostile and he don't speak for 3-4 days. He says he has a contract worth millions and millions of dollars for his retirement in Sept. I haven't nor will I send any money at all. We started talking on messenger than wanted to go to Hangouts because it was more private. Yea yea, whatever. So watch for the name John Wilson with a daughter. He works on an oil rig in Scotland.
Dupedonce
June 25, 2018
Contacted via LinkedIn, stated that she was a soldier in US Army in Syria. Called me her guardian angel and needed a mentor to start a career. Asked for an Amazon gift card and I sent. Professed her love for me and called me handsome. A sergeant who texted with broken English and email as well. Later asked for iTunes card , which I did not send. Is now pestering me to contact an attorney on her behalf. She is allegedly receiving an inheritance from her dead father who was in UN. I can't believe I believed this as I am typing it . I have blocked her on text and hope it will end now.
CarolGotScammed
June 26, 2018
I have recently been scammed by a man who says he is an Engineer from the united states and is currently working in Cairo Egypt. He says his name is Jason Perchinske.
FeelingStupid
July 08, 2018

In reply to by CarolGotScammed

I have recently been scammed by a man who says he is an artist from the United States and is currently stranded in Cairo Egypt. He says his name is Jason Perchinske.
Same name same…
October 20, 2018

In reply to by FeelingStupid

Recently contacted by name Jason Perchinske from Our Time. with same name and profession, artist Interestingly claimed he had possible artist contract and would be going to Cairo . Said he was widower and wife and two daughters killed in car crash 1996 and recently relocated from Boston to Villa Park. Too much too fast. Ended it quickly
kathleen
November 05, 2018

In reply to by Same name same…

I had the same experience with Jason perchinski..says he was widowed..lost wife and daughters to car crash..met him on our time. He was telling wonderful things..and then started asking me for money..said he was an artist..lost his tools in Cairo Egypt where he had a contract. I keep refusing..he kept asking..I finally ended it.
Jojo
July 02, 2020

In reply to by Same name same…

He just contacted me on our time as well Jason Perchinske. Exact same backstory, family killed in a car crash in 1996. This time he relocated from Boston to Connecticut. Also an artist by profession. More like a con artist!
ScammedInVA
December 04, 2019

In reply to by CarolGotScammed

I have recently started communicating with a man who says he too is an Engineer from the United States and is currently working in Cairo Egypt. I only know his first name of Patrick. He says that he has a poodle named Perry who is staying with a friend of his who is a doctor. When he supposedly first arrived in Egypt his luggage was dropped with his laptop inside and his laptop was destroyed. He want me to FedEx him a new one. I refused. All of a sudden his lawyer here in the states was sending him a new one. The next thing I knew he dropped his expensive iPhone and wanted me to send him a new one but again I refused. Now he wants me to send him a $200 iTunes card so that he can finished getting his cell phone fixed properly. I am not sending him anything because I honestly believe he thinks that I am so desperate for a man in my life that I will fall for his sweet talk. He claimed to love me from the moment that we started chatting on Hangouts.
I'm not stupid
June 26, 2018
Has anyone had dealings with someone named Robell Richards. States he is from south africa and a contractor that works over seas building mini malls.
Martha01
June 27, 2018
Does any one know of an army scammer by the name of Richard allen
melflor
September 30, 2019

In reply to by Martha01

yes girl, he took more than $8000 from me. I gave him my credit card information and he deposited a fake check. Itook out the money and then the checks went bad. OMG I now have to go to Consumer Credit Counseling to get help with my credit cards.
fell4it2
June 28, 2018
Greg Helmut. This person used a fake womans profile on Match,(Laurie from Fairbanks, Alaska) and wrote to me and i was wondering why a woman would write. "She" was supposedly his "cousin". Thousands of dollars lost getting a computer sent to south Africa for a "multi million dollar government contract". He was supposedly an "engineer", just "one job away from retirement". Used elegant poetic words, sent music clips, even God.... and it worked. I wonder who the person in the photo is, if they are aware someone is using their photo. Maybe we should start a support group.... you really believe them, and fall in love with who you see in the photo.... Very devastating, heartbreaking and expensive....i found his photo on another dating site as "Robert" from Miami. Reported that, too.... but you always have in the back of your mind, is one of those profiles really real and you just ruined possibilities for them?
Wronged
June 30, 2018

In reply to by fell4it2

Do the reverse image search in Google to find the identity of the person in photo. I understand.
Dr54eagle
August 24, 2018

In reply to by Wronged

How do you do the reverse photo look up on you tube? I was given the email address of a Richard VanOrnam. One of his so called friends sent it to me. He is almost too good looking to be true. We emailed and texted for awhile, made plans to meet but he had to go to South Africa to do a 6 week project. Said his iPhone , camera and Mac Pro laptop were stolen at the airport along with his wallet. Says he has to have these items or he cannot do his work. I said no and he says I have extreme trust issues. Have you ever heard of this guy. He sounds pretty well educated and his English is not bad. Oh and he is a widower with a daughter.
fishon
April 27, 2019

In reply to by Dr54eagle

This guy just did the same thing to me. Gave me the same story as above, then added his equipment broke down. Very well written and appears to be educated. He is a scammer!!
Queen Mush
June 30, 2018
I've been talking with a guy who says he's deployed overseas in Afghanistan and has been over there without R & R for the last 18 months, has access to medicine over there but not for what he needs, texts me every day around the same time for about 2-3 hours, tells me where he is overseas and where his next mission is. He says he'll get into trouble if he's caught texting me. He uses some kind of iPad type thing. I've checked the Scam Haters website and everything he's told me, if he were truly in the military, he would not tell me. He goes by the name of Lt. James Koppel with the 82nd Airborne. He's talked about the missions he's been on, who's gotten hurt, etc. He says he's from Illinois, is widowed and has a young boy. Supposedly, his Sgt. is stationed in the US in the Springfield, Illinois area and not overseas. She goes by the name Brenda Simpson. He's been asking for money to help pay for the medicine that he needs to treat dysentery, malaria, etc. I asked for proof of him being overseas and he did send me a photo of him "supposedly" with a couple of local people.A lot of red flags.
FTC Staff
July 02, 2018

In reply to by Queen Mush

That's a scam. The US Army is aware of scammers who pretend to be soldiers, and posted a list of warnings, including this:  Soldiers have medical insurance for themselves and their immediate family members (spouse and/or children), which pays for their medical costs when treated at health care facilities worldwide - family and friends do not need to pay their medical expenses.

GYPSY
June 30, 2018
Bridget Small, I wanted to see if anyone had commented on my entry a few days ago - but I couldn't locate my story. Do some of the blogs get removed? I don't know the exact date but I know that you have been very helpful with many of the individuals on the site.
FTC Staff
July 02, 2018

In reply to by GYPSY

Sometimes a comment moves because new comments are added before or after your comment is published. That can make your comment appear on a different page than it did previously. 

TOgirl
June 30, 2018
Anyone encounter a guy on POF posing as a doctor from Nicaragua but raised in Malta. Says he does contract work for MSF and UNICEF. He apparently is on assignment in Iraq for 6 weeks. Initially sounded passionate about work but now says he is bored and asked me to buy him an iTunes card so he can download movies and books. Spoken to him on the phone twice. Has sent me few pictures of someone who is obviously cute and appears to be a doctor but something seems off. Keeps asking me to send him a card. Phone # is a based in NY and his FB has the same type of pics as POF.
babyblues
July 01, 2018
FYI for all the women using online dating. Christopher Anton Raymond is scammer. His latest story is he is in Dubai mining for their govt. He sweet talks you and then a couple weeks of talking he tells you he got paid aling wirh a new vehicle for his contract work. He then wants to send his cash payment and vehicle to you. Do not fall for this. It leads to thousands of dollars he wants. When he gets no for an answer, he starts telling you, you pay the money or bad things will happen to you. I have plenty of pictures of a person and the name, phone number or address he gave to me were not real. Anyone that asks for anything from cards to wired money is scamming you. When they do not get what they want, the get nasty. Block them and never give any petsonal info to them.
angdarling
July 03, 2018

HI, Has anyone scammed anyone on here by the name of Garth Lindsey claiming to be a flite medic in the army and saying he has two kids and has been single for 4 years cause he lost his wife. Asks for Itune gift cards and says that he wants you to send him a phone because his is messing up and that he is deployed in Nigeria. Also asking for money to be sent western union so that he can eat other food because he claims the food over there get's him sick. Did he friend request you on facebook and then have you go to a whatsapp site to chat with you further? Please let me know if someone is dealing with this guy too.

Kat
July 03, 2018
I am being scammed right now by a guy who is trying to get me to send him, Itunes gift cards, 4 of them for $100 each to reload his phone so he can continue to talk to me, his "wife" as he will be out of minutes like this Friday. He said his name is Presley Davidson, lives in Jasper, Al is from Montenegro, and is in Bari Italy working on a huge project for millions of dollars and a Construction Engineer. He is a widower, his wife died in a car accident, 3 kids with very spread out birth-dates. He was quick to fall in love with me. Wants to marry me etc. I have a couple of pics he has sent and none are on any sights as a scammer. I would like to know if anyone else has seen this name etc as this is a "too good to be true" one of things.
Scooby
July 03, 2018
Has anyone had dealings with a person named Denise Chambers or Dean Chambers in the UK ? Just started talking with her. No money yet but she had started the I love you stuff.
Julinator3000
July 03, 2018
They are even on Words with Friends. I have had a couple of gentlemen start conversations with me and before you know it, they profess their love for you. Next thing you know they are asking you for iTunes cards yo deal with situations which they have well made up.
Julinator3000
July 03, 2018
They are even on Words with Friends. I have had a couple of gentlemen start conversations with me and before you know it, they profess their love for you. Next thing you know they are asking you for iTunes cards yo deal with situations which they have well made up.
Hongann1979
July 04, 2018
I meet this scammer thru facebook name benny botham no one in their right mind doesnt say im in love with you in 2 weeks keep saying he was born in germany came to the US (new york or canada) dad died mom is in africa have 2 kids ex wife run off with another man bs he keep asking for itunes/amazon and now asking money for medical attention and my bank to. Any ladies out there dealing with a scammer asking u for money its all lies and the person is a fake
Sully girl
July 04, 2018
Beware of scammers on Instagram ladies!! All these men claim to be in the military and lost thier wives to cancer and yadda yadda .. they are liars and scam artists!!
WantToHelpGoin…
July 05, 2018
How can we stop these scammers? I have done everything the credit card company asked me to do and I am still stuck with all the debt accumulated from my scammer. They actually have told me "that's what happens to you people". Is that what you say to a rape victim? Just because you cant see the crime doesn't mean that's it not there and that it doesn't hurt and that you don't feel violated. This person knows too much about me and I fear retaliation. I am too ashamed and embarrassed to talk to friends and it took everything out of me to walk into a police department. BUT how can I prevent this from happening to anyone else? The scammer still has an instagram page open and the followers keep racking up? I wish someone would have tried to stop him before he got to me? What can I do? I feel so helpless. I have filed a police report, a report here, and a report with FBI IC3 because he portrays himself as a military soldier. Seems unstoppable and its makes this so much worse.
Unsurelove11
July 06, 2018
After reading everyone comments I'm unsure about the guy I'm talking too. Meet through plenty of fish goes by the name David Brown says he's in the military deployed in syria. Has aked twice for an iTunes gift card which I haven't given to him as this caused red flags. Has anyone else heard of this guy?? Says he is single no parents, died when he was a teenager lived with his grandmother from the US.would love some insight into this.
Overwatch
July 06, 2018
Anyone ever had the fake celebrity scam, where you comment on a celeb's Facebook page and then get a reply supposedly from the celeb saying "thank you for your support" or some such rubbish? I recently had to step in when a loved one was contacted by a fake Stephen Amell and even though he's now blocked those contact details, a part of him still thinks there really is a parcel from this joker stuck in Thailand somewhere, and it doesn't matter what I say, I can't convince him that the person he was talking to was more like Stephen SCAMell.
nobody’s fool
May 20, 2020

In reply to by Overwatch

Yes. Recently Colin Farrell. Took five months to ask for me to talk to his bank because couldn’t access his account. What? Why ask me? Won’t talk on phone or Zoom due to to “privacy restrictions.” Very knowledgeable about the actor. Even knew restaurants near Colin’s home he would take me to. Came up with answers in less than a minute. English was good but some errors. Thought I was speaking to different people at times. Told him he would never get a dime from me. He keeps trying to woo me.
sixnebwf
July 08, 2018
Richard Jefferson is the name my scammer is using. Says sh lives in NYC had a 9 year old daughter he started out on words with friends then asked to move to hangouts. Started calling me wifey right off the bat. Sending the same poems every day. Then he was scared to tell me but he wanted iTunes card. Then he sent an old video of someone getting hurt and says he needs 7000 to keep himself out of jail he was supposed be doing that job but he wanted to talk to me. I confronted him and he got pissed cuz I called him a scammer. A few hours later s got another message that said baby please help me. Well I was born at night but not last night!! Lol