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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
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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.

lstieve
September 05, 2017

In reply to by Rox

Yes, I met a Franlin Honza on POF who stunk of scammer right away. I googled his name and found this - no big surprise. I get 3 scammers to every real person.
Don'tjonne1958…
March 23, 2018

In reply to by lstieve

I meet a guy named Honza Franlin could this be the same guy
Jollybarbie
March 21, 2017
I have been chatting with someone from a dating site for about 1 1/2 months now. His name is David Labzentis. He is 48 and lives in Redmond Oregon. He has a speech issue and hearing problems that he says he got from rubella as a teen. He is an oil consultant for GSK oil. He is on denmark right now for a contract he won. Now he is in jail because of not being able to pay his hotel bill because he spent all his money on lawyer fees.. i have already given him almost 4000. I am confused because most of the time it makes sense and some of the time it doesnt. Sigh
Deliverered77
March 21, 2017
Ladies be mindful of a scammer by the names of D.Smith or at times Smith Hughes - pretending as a USA soldier in Afighastan he is trying to rob women in the name of Love - just been saved narrowly by the my the grace of the Lord.
whatifeva
March 21, 2017
Please, I think my so called boyfriend is a Kabul scammer. Someone help me. I too have My heart is to invested. I don't wanna leave him .but He is saying the same thing to other woman. I called him out but he states to trust him and so on and so forth . I need to know why he won't call or Skype and disappear on the week stating his platoon is somewhere where he cant talk please someone any one.
Pinkrose
March 23, 2017
This guy on meet me site told me he is in military as was deployed to Africa and now wants me to send him a phone does this sound like a scam why would he not have a phone
Fedup2017
March 25, 2017

In reply to by Pinkrose

Yes, I believe it's probably the same kind of scam I was involved in. He was supposedly stationed in Africa and also needed a phone soon after we started talking
Gargano
March 27, 2017

I've been talking to this girl for about 2 months now and she asked me to open up a Discover debit card so that she could send money to it then I go take off for cash advance and then send her the money back by money gram and western union now if she does that and I don't send the money back to her will I get in trouble for not sending this money back she say she on nato duty in the military in Nigeria she says her lawyer takes care of her finances but wht I was wondering was why she couldn't do it her self or her lawyer so long story short I want to know if this girl puts money on my debit card and I don't send her the money back would I get in trouble something just don't sound rt to me and she says she wants me to take out cash advance then send her money gram and western union to 2 diff address in Nigeria she sent 2000 so far and I took the money off my debit card so someone let me know if I get in trouble if i dont send to her just sounds fishy

FTC Staff
March 27, 2017

In reply to by Gargano

Some scammers use other people to send and receive stolen money. They might develop an online relationship and ask their new sweetheart or friend to accept money and transfer funds for them. Law enforcement calls the victims ’money mules.’ If you get involved with one of these schemes, you could lose money and personal information, and you could get into legal trouble.

mika0109
March 28, 2017
Does anyone know David Anderson... I met him on facebook claims he has a son who is 16 and studying in the UK...He is from Texas and currently living in Dallas his DOB 6/12/63... his wife died 3 years ago from a heart attack... he is an engineer and is currently on a ship in the Black Sea.. come on really???? Reading all these comments I know for sure this is scam...
Patricia
August 07, 2018

In reply to by mika0109

Try searching Anderson Arnold I believe they are using the identity of Daniel Anderson
Diane
November 21, 2018

In reply to by mika0109

Did you find out who he is and can you post his FB site please? TY
Sallyo
September 29, 2019

In reply to by mika0109

Hi, I’ve just been chatting to David Anderson who works in the Black Sea on an oil rig and he has just asked me to send his son a laptop for this birthday!!!!!! Really!!!
ttch
April 03, 2020

In reply to by mika0109

Block David f Anderson he is a very good scrammer l loss a lot of money to him because I believed him he is fake he will use you and hurt you I talk with him for a year he never paid back my invest in him and his civil engineer business He was born 1/16/63 67 urs old had beard and salt and pepper hair and nice body very good English no mistakes in his love letters He fooled me even though there were red flags he had. Brazil passport and Netherlands driving license he was fake My new boyfriend told him off on phone toget him from calling me block his number He was originally from N J all fake I think he’s from Nigeria
cavewoman
March 31, 2017
Someone is trying to scam my 75 year old recently widowed mother in law. I told her it was a scam, but she is in love and the person is repeated asking for money. Thankfully she is in the middle of bankruptcy and is broke, but I think she would send them money if she could get it together. She wants to marry him, and I told her it's fake. It started on facebook and progressed from there. What can I do to stop this?
Seoul-sevrching
April 05, 2017
I've been talking to a guy who goes by the name Devon claiming to be a petroleum engineer and owns his own company; goes to angola for work on a rig. Has a 6 year old daughter who has an illness or an ailment as he calls it. Claims to have a PhD and yet raises so many red flags by typing so many typos and keeps typing with ., every single time. He then out of nowhere asks if I can send USD2540 to pay for his daughter's hospital fee cuz she randomly got hospitalised. Luckily, the warning signs flipped .... so buh bye loser. Be careful girls. I met him on Coffee Meets Bagel. Claim to be american-italian but has a weak english grasp and doesn't speak a word of italian. Hmmmm.
MissBroken1
April 08, 2017
DO NOT SEND MONEY TO GLOTRONICS,LLC IN NEW JERSEY!!! HIS NAME IS ABDUL SAMAD YOUSUF. THIS LLC is a MONEY MULE!!!
Not-A-Scammer
April 09, 2017
First off let me say, these online love scammers are quite obvious. If they look to good to be true, they are. If they are way out of your league with a heart of gold, you probably got one. Google is your friend, research them. Everyone has a web presence somewhere. On the other hand, it is very unfair to accuse people of wrong doing because you have trust issues about online dating. One man, coincidentally was a regional manager at another government department, accused me of plotting something. He said to me "what the (expletive) is this? If you are plotting something you can forget it" and continued to attack me. Some people just don't belong on online dating site.
DB
April 12, 2017
WooPlus Dating App BEWARE Fake profiles have tried to scam me 3x now. The app says they check user profiles for fraud but on 3 occasions men have asked me to send them money via itunes card and one had the nerve to ask me to buy him an iphone...really am i that stupid!
DB
April 12, 2017

In reply to by DB

Just a follow up. The guy on WooPlus name is Tom and the other is Mike. Mike says his wife died 4yrs ago in car accident and he has a kid. Also in the oil industry and posing as a white male. Tom had a contract with UAE and was "working" out there. I have reported them to WooPlus so far no response from company.
Joan W
April 27, 2017

In reply to by DB

I've been talking to man who says he lives in Ft. Collins, CO. Name of James, Dutch with a 4 year old son. Caught on pretty quickly that he was not genuine. I've been contacted loads of times by various scammers and they are very easy to spot. 1) Usually widowed 2) Always mentions what a God fearing man they are 3) Often works for the military, UN, WHO, or some other large international charity or humanitarian outfit. 4) Will give you a phone number or email to 'chat offline' almost immediately 5) If it was online - they will delete the profile straight away so you can't do a photo recognition 6) If they give you a phone number - it's always untraceable - either a pay as you go unregistered or a VOIP number. 7) They come on very strong - very quickly 8) Their English is very bad and yes, they are supposedly from a different country but if they hold the job/position they say they do - their English would be pretty good. 9) They know nothing about the country/area they supposedly come from. They cannot answer any direct questions. 10) Ask them to prove they are who they say they are. Tell them to send you a picture of their driving license or anything that matches their name/pic/residence. They can block out any personal details. If they are genuine - this shouldn't be a problem for them. If they get offended - it's because they can't prove they are real.
Aliena1717
April 12, 2017
Be careful!!! There's a guy in OkCupid, he only has one profile picture, he's blond and you only can see one side of his face, he's kissing like a tank of beer. He's name is "Stephen Christian" he said he's a military in a peace keeping mission in Turkey. His mother was Jamaican and die when he was 8 years old and his father was a Sweden vender paper and also die when he was 19. He went to study to Scotland (a big mix of accents) he's 37 and of course his girlfriend cheating on him, he found out she was pregnant with other guy baby when he was in a 18 months mission in Afghanistan... in his profile he said he lives in Washington but he told me he lives in California, he doesn't send pictures, and he said he will do it once he can get to his email...he can't use his email but he's allowed to use OkCupid. I'm must say I trust him at first but I have this feeling that something wasn't quite well, I started to Google him, but if course nothing appears. I found this article and I saw all the stories and I was in shock! So similar to him and all the things he said. I'm thanks to God I found out before he would start to ask for things or money. I still talk to him, I want to make him suffer for do this kind of things. I've been talking to him for about 12 or 14 days now. I can't wait for him to ask me for money or things...I'll say yes to all and let him waiting... Sorry for my English...is not my first language.
Catone
April 19, 2017
There is a man on okcupid who claims his name is david sierra from Ohio and first he was deployed to Iraq, then claimed he was sent on a "special mission" to Nigeria. I said "ok" and was stupid enough to send him an iPad mini (refurbished one only $180) because it was his birthday and Christmas. Then after a couple of more months he started asking me for money and then sent me some phony leave of absence form asking for something like 1300 dollars and I told him no and told him that makes no sense for someone to have to pay to go on a leave of absence and that he is a scammer and told him to leave me alone. He also claimed that he couldn't talk on the phone and sent me some video of him receiving an award from the military but it had no sound to it. He said he couldn't talk on the phone because his phone was "bugged" and when he did text me, it was from an American area code that he claims goes through the us army so at least I wasn't charged for any of the texts he sent me. Then he says that his parents died in some "ghastly" accident and nobody speaks like that here in America. Then he said he lives with his uncle in Buffalo,ny and he originally grew up in California before his parents died. Then the address I sent his iPad to had ARO in the mailing address but when I looked up the complete address online it was only short for some street called oke aro street in Nigeria so it wasn't any actual army mailing address as he made it look to be! Plus whenever he sent me a text, at the bottom of the text it would say "military pda wireless" and he would try to sound like he's official by calling the bathroom the cr room as in comfort room. So beware of david sierra because he's a fake!!
dlrusse53Don't…
April 19, 2017
has anyone heard the names Smith Harris or John Samson or Micheal James
Angel2046
January 29, 2018

In reply to by dlrusse53Don't…

I am talking to a micheal James from tx is that the same one your referring to?
harleyquinn
April 20, 2017
I have a chatmate named FRANK BARRY LUCAS CHARLES,, etc, he said hes in a mission in MOSCOW but he is a US MILITARY, he sent several pictures with her daughter named LIGHT< very believable. then he said he is a widow and his mom is taking care of his child. his father died already. hes english is very good and, after a month of chatting hesaid his mom died, slipped in bathroom (crazy) and he needs his daughter to be sent back to US but no enough money, i should help him, Its crazy,, i trusted him its really crazy, i send my picture with my friends and family, but when it comes to money, i told him i will send but i have to speak with him first, but he said he cant make calls while on duty, so i told him that if you really wanted me to send money talk to me, on video call, he cant do it, so i knew that time its a SCAM.. CRAZY SCAMMERS!
oregon
April 24, 2017
I received a private tweet out of nowhere, from someone named Arnold Gifford in Newfoundland. Young widower with 2 daughers, but can't find ANYTHING about him on FB or google-anyone else heard from this man? has sent video in addition to pics, so seems to really be from there-phone area code matches, but then devolved into disastrous trip to Turkey and needs money sent Western union. have not responded since then. What if he really was robbed? has no adult family, so he says...
lie2menever
April 26, 2017
good day everyone! seems like theres a whole lot of us being scammed. When someone does that to you or tries to as best they can so we can send what they want, we can feel it. We only have to be very careful and listen to the voice within us telling or warning us not to make the move they want us to do for them. I myself have been scammed by one person....yet I have two more friends or whatever you wanna call it coz they just email me with so nice words on it. Finally, this one guy asked me money and when I ask for his personal details so I could wire the money I said I would send him (which I definitely wouldn't do even if I have it), he asked me to wire it to someone by such name ( a name of a woman he said was a hospital consultant in India where his son was confined for treatment). It just confirmed he was a scammer.Despite it, I told him I would only send the money to him so he should write me his complete personal info. But he said in his succeeding mail not to send if I dont trust him and dont understand his situation. Then, another mail stating I should send the money coz he badly needs it for his son but I have to send it to that woman. He even added that he was angry at me but he was trying to control himself for the sake of his son. I did not reply to him.Not anymore. There are two more who sounded the same in their mails. I found one to be a scammer like two months ago but the other one was just today. I saw the emails he sent to another girl all the same as those he sent me. Crazy...but at least everyone is helping everyone by posting and reporting these scammers. Let us all be cautious and try not to fall to their sweet nothings. Pardon me for my long message...but here, take note of these names:HAMS JEFFERSON FRANK NORTH HOWARD DODDS MACKLIN GRACY JENIFER (a woman)Finally, I thank you all for the information and stories you have shared. LET US BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS THE GOOD GOOD MEN!
Oregon
April 25, 2017
To jollybarbie, don't believe guy from Redmond Oregon works for oil co. We allow no oil refineries in this state, he is scamming you.
PatriciaK
April 25, 2017
i did not join any dating sites. somehow a guy contacted me Dave Clinton...widow.lost his wife to a throat cancer..51...with a daughter 21 years old studying to be a doctor.. He said he is a Petroleum Engineer..and all that..but because I was like okay being single...and just taking a time of from my ex bf...so I was just talking..and I am busy with traveling... so I didn't give that interest although I appreciate his profession... Later on..he himself said that I am not interested on him..and he feels sad..and all that words... which that time too good to be be true but for me...i clearly said... I am okay being single. He called I didnt answer at all. Not realy interested and I am.okay with messages. At the end I guess he noticed that I am not really into him so he did not reply at all and I started talking about scammers all fake people.. so I guess he feels that maybe I knew something about him. I have a hint thathe is not real...but for the sake of entertainment .. i just talk to him a.I was on travel...my focus is on my life and things I want to do.... at the end..when he stopped messaging... I just sent a good email and saying good luck to him. It was a scam.... and I know its very obvious that the pictures he sent to me are not his....because i knew some of the places and that doesnt coincide on his stories at all. and eveb emails. He might be good at all the talking but he cannto win me iver by emails and sweet talks... that's not my thing..
PhoolishInPhoenix
April 27, 2017

I'm pretty sure I'm being scammed. Guy says his name is Robert Porter, Army special forces in Chad Africa, I have a phone number out of Los Angeles. Met on Bumble. We've been texting for a week or more. Something has never felt right. Babe this and baby that from the beginning. I'm only out $100 for a gift card he said he couldn't get for his son where he was located which was completely stupid on my part. Glad to have stumbled upon this site. He says to talk over his Sat phone I have to email usmilitaryconnectingfamilies       and get a subscription. My ex was Marine special forces so I know this to be BS. I feel so foolish. I guess it goes to show how bad some of us women want to find a special someone.

Alina
April 27, 2017
scammer are everywhere including white American and European males so stop the stereotype of Nigerians
AL1964
July 02, 2020

In reply to by Alina

You are absolutely right I was scammed by a Handsome Caucasian man and Babe I kinda knew that except he sent a Temporary Military ID and several other pictures even with him with Military men.
Miller 972
April 27, 2017
Does anyone know a guy named George Duff claiming to be a USA chief of staff he is SURPOSE to be in Syria right now he was on facebook he took his self off their and now is on hangouts. Says swe3t things to ya wants to marry u always asking for money has a adopted son always,tells dad stories always asking about my family and what they do. Goes on and on
blue62
April 27, 2017
I am finding this new format extremely difficult to use and cannot find any of the information I was looking for..i am looking for information from anyone who has come in contact with Steven Pieters, of Patchogue, New York and had contacted two people but cannot find the names in this format
guardyourself
April 27, 2017
Report to the FBI! It will take a few weeks for them to contact you. I have been scammed for a lot of money. These guys really know what to say. See how mad they get when you tell them "I know how to push your buttons". Tell your tax person and they can file and put in for $3,000.00 back a year. You may not get it all back but it helps. STOP dealing with guys on internet. You can check the profile pic images. To really find out if bogus and who the pic really belongs to.
guardyourself
April 27, 2017
I have been texting with a guy started in Kabul. Then he says he retired from the US ARMY. He is in Lonfon st the time since Dec 5,2016. He has a son, Ian who has been in and out of hospital. He already had airline tickets to fly to the US where he says he lives in CA. His son has been hospitalized twice in December and then again since January 14, 2017. The doctor in London will not give him clearance to fly because he needs heart surgery. This guys name is Lieutenant Michael BRODY. I met him on Christian mingle The doctor in London will not give him clearance to fly because he needs heart surgery. This guys name is Lieutenant Michael BRODY. I met him on Christian mingle all. I have lost a lot of money to him. He has used pictures of Kip Burris and others. He is requesting more money. I have been ignoring his text messages. It's time to say goodbye to him and get my life back. Has anyone heard of him? Please let me know.
talktomichaelbrody
July 12, 2017

In reply to by guardyourself

Hi Guardyourself I did and he said he had a daughter and sent pictures and I chatted with him on Plenty of Fish (POF).
midnighttulip
August 15, 2017

In reply to by talktomichaelbrody

I also talked to Michael Brody and he sent pictures of his daughter and claims to be in the service... I cut him off and met him on POF
Terbear
May 18, 2018

In reply to by guardyourself

He is now using the name Lloyd Burris and he just recently got out of the military and is living in Ghana he has a son named Mikey who is 12 and He is wanting to come to United States but he needs help buying the tickets also he needs money to buy a passport for him and his son and all kind of different things that he needs he's a scammer!!! Always wanting money for one thing or another he has been out of the military now for 10 months and still has not managed to find a way to come home to the United States pathetic
dawngooch7
April 28, 2017
Zoosk lies alot they seat there and said it's free no it's notmplease never go on there all they want is 59.99 to being then they want you to buy coins so same people can't afford it but when you are looking to find a free dating site and zoosk is number 1 lies i feel like i wikl never find love please be careful
LonelyHeart
April 28, 2017
I met this guy a dating website. He claims he is a military guy deployed in Syria. We spoke for a day or two and I ask would he be interested in continuing our conversation off the dating site and on this free text app. He agreed. After hour of chatting, he told me his name and said the he was in Syria for about 6 to 9 months and that he was looking for a relationship. I through out several questions to see if this guy is real or just scamming me. After a few days of chatting, I asked him was there anything he needed from me while over there. He told me no, just talking to me and knowing I support him is fine and besides it's too dangerous to send anything to Syria at this time. I just want to knw, how can I tell is this man for real? We have exchange several photos, I tried putting his photo in the search image and nothing has come back. My heart is tell me this guy is scamming me but I am not sure for what. I offer to send him a package but he didn't take the bait.
Terbear
May 19, 2018

In reply to by LonelyHeart

He will make sure that he has got you hooked real good before he starts asking for money I know a woman who talked to a "military guy" for two years and she lost out on a whole lot of money because he was a scammer. She was devastated my advice is run and count your blessings. Good luck to you
Lizzie
May 31, 2018

In reply to by LonelyHeart

LonelyHeart he’s a scammer I have a lot of pictures of this military man says he’s in Syria trust me he will get around asking you for money and iTunes cards he just taking his time with you but you have to be smarter then them scammer work in groups change there names and emails phone number just don’t give him anything if he starts asking they are all around on social media be careful
Allison
June 28, 2018

In reply to by Lizzie

I think I'm dealing with a scammer as well. We started chatting on WooPlus and goes by David Johnson. He claims he is in the airforce and has a son. I have found an instagram page with more pictures. He is very handsome and has send several pictures of himself with his military gear on and regular clothes. He just asked for an itunes card. We have been chatting on hangout. Does anyone know him?
I knew it
December 14, 2020

In reply to by Allison

He found me on Instagram and asked to text on Hangout because the military monitors them. He goes by David John from Orlando FL. Claims to be a medical doctor contracted with military hospital in Syria. His wife passed away in a automobile accident in 2018 and has a 14 yr old son staying with his mom in Turkey. He needs a Google play card from Wal-Mart for $200 to arrange for a private jet back to the states because he's terminating his contract due to increased violence.
Saquiroca
December 23, 2020

In reply to by I knew it

Oh My God! There is this guy who sent me message through instagram, I replied and then he told me to download hangout and now we're chatting there. His name is Frank Scott, he said his from San Jose California and currently working as a surgeon in Syria under UN contract. He have 2 kids, they we're at the boarding school in California because their mom already passed away. Now Christmas is coming , Frank told me he can't send them money because he don't have access to his account while he is in Syria, that's why he asked me a favor if I can send money to the kids. Now I don't know what to do, I already fell in love with him. I want to help the kids but at the same time I don't want to act so stupid!! I don't know what's the real deal. Any advice?
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