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.
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 Rig in Gulf seems to be a by Stupid
In reply to I think the oil rig guy has by Hssmiles
In reply to The Petroleum Engineer calls by Marielena
In reply to I think the oil rig guy has by Hssmiles
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to What is that guys name on the by FishingMo
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to Hi. Same here, but was not by Sunshine
In reply to Gabriel Morrison, sounds like by Angel
In reply to Sounds like the bloke I by Not Stupid
In reply to Sounds like the bloke I by Not Stupid
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to Could you tell me his name.. by Rob373
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to I know how you feel. I have by sunshine
In reply to Can you tell me if you are by dontbeafool
In reply to Anyway you can view a picture by Hunter
In reply to Can you tell me if you are by dontbeafool
In reply to My uy is calling himself Jack by Don't uDiannes…
In reply to I needed to read your message by anybodyknowake…
In reply to Any bodyknowakel..I didn't by Concernedgirl
In reply to Hey I’m sorry about that, but by Dont mind what…
In reply to I love your response and wish by Hopeless
In reply to I met a man on fitbit by the by Emily
In reply to I met a man on fitbit by the by Emily
In reply to I love your response and wish by Hopeless
In reply to How long do they chat to you by JennyL
In reply to I love your response and wish by Hopeless
In reply to I have been talking to a guy by Lost and confused
In reply to Please be aware that a by Rose
In reply to I too have been scammed I by Kathryn
In reply to Yes, says he works overseas. by Katie
In reply to I too have been scammed I by Kathryn
In reply to Kathryn I believe this is the by Susan
In reply to I met a man he says he is 54 by Lost and out $
In reply to Yes I have been conned by a by Jackie
In reply to I found a woman named Shelley by Little Johnny
In reply to He is a scammer. Some of them by chocorottkennel
In reply to He is a scammer. Some of them by chocorottkennel
In reply to Yes I have been conned by a by Jackie
In reply to Hi, how did you get his real by Helen
In reply to I WAS SCAMMED BY SOMEONE by SCAMMED!!!
In reply to Hi I wonder if it’s the same by Mary
In reply to I WAS SCAMMED BY SOMEONE by SCAMMED!!!
In reply to Was his name Mac (Malachi) by Tararayray
In reply to I WAS SCAMMED BY SOMEONE by SCAMMED!!!
In reply to Hi, how did you get his real by Helen
Pagination