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 Me pasa lo mismo soy mexicana by Hill
In reply to Hola Hill yo estoy pasando x by Meche
In reply to La supuesta compañía que te by Eliz,
In reply to Hola Hill yo estoy pasando x by Meche
In reply to El que me mandó a mí se llama by Nancy
In reply to Conocí a uno que se llama by Nena
In reply to Hola Hill yo estoy pasando x by Meche
In reply to Me pasa lo mismo soy mexicana by Hill
In reply to Me pasa lo mismo soy mexicana by Hill
In reply to Me pasa lo mismo soy mexicana by Hill
In reply to Me pasa lo mismo soy mexicana by Hill
In reply to Lo mismo quisiera, saber yo. by No use su dire…
In reply to hola me esta sucediendo lo by ma.guadalupe
In reply to A mi lo mismo un Tal Alex by Carolina
In reply to A mi lo mismo un Tal Alex by Carolina
In reply to Hola creo que es la misma by Irmalopez
In reply to Hola creo que es la misma by Irmalopez
In reply to Hola creo que es la misma by Irmalopez
In reply to Hola creo que es la misma by Irmalopez
In reply to Hola creo que es la misma by Irmalopez
In reply to A mí me sucedió lo mismo by Maria
In reply to Tienes fotos de el para saber by Jacqueline
In reply to Sera un tal Roberto Rodas? A by Anita
In reply to Sera un tal Roberto Rodas? A by Anita
In reply to Tienes fotos de el para saber by Jacqueline
In reply to Tienes fotos de el para saber by Jacqueline
In reply to Hola a mí me pasa lo mismo by Sonia
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to Hola cual fue la aplicacion by Eli
In reply to Busque en la app photo by Eles
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to Hola mony me gustaría poder by Mery
In reply to Hola mony me gustaría poder by Mery
In reply to Hola a mí me pasa lo mismo by Sonia
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to Me gustaría saber cual es la by Chapis
In reply to Eso del paquete es para by Luna.
In reply to Eso del paquete es para by Luna.
In reply to Ami igual según esta en alta by Ani
In reply to Me gustaría saber cual es la by Chapis
In reply to Me gustaría saber cual es la by Chapis
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to A mi me paso algo similar me by Mony2020
In reply to Tienes fotos de el para saber by Jacqueline
In reply to A mí me sucedió lo mismo by Maria
In reply to Donde lo denunciante ? by Gina
In reply to Fui estafada por un supuesto by No use su dire…
In reply to hola cómo estás. Yo fui by johanna cardozo
Pagination