Consumer Alert
Faking it — scammers’ tricks to steal your heart and money
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.
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In reply to I don’t know how we can, I by It’s me
We don't post personal information on the blog; please see our Comment Policy for more detail.
In reply to We don't post personal by FTC Staff
In reply to Is there anyway to connect by It’s me
You're welcome to post comments about your experience. You can also help law enforcement by reporting to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint. When you report details about your experience, the information goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies across the country use for investigations. You can choose how much information to give about yourself.
The FTC publishes an annual report about consumer complaints. In 2017, imposter scams, which includes romance imposters, were #3 on the list of reported problems. The top three were debt collection, identity theft and imposter scams.
I met this guy from FB, introduced himself as a civil engineer from Edinburgh Scotland, even gave me the name of the company where he works. He said he is a widower with a 10 yr. old daughter. He works as a private contractor. He travels all over the world. He said that he is looking for the right woman for him to spend the rest of his life. We start talking around thanksgiving last year and he start professing his love to me and I ended up telling him that I care for him too. We start texting back and forth or talking on the phone before we go to bed and getting up in the morning. We r having the relationship for the period of two months. He mentioned earlier that he is going to Malaysia to sign one of his business contracts. He left for ‘Malaysia in the middle of January, called me whe he arrived to Malaysia.
The first week he mentioned that he has to import machinery from China and that cost him $477,310 thousand dollars . He never mention anything during our two months of our relationship about any money. Listen to this, a week after he text me that he is in trouble that he is ashamed to ask me but he needs money for his hotel bills and food etc . When he told me about his problem, I was sleeping and I told him right away that a man like him with a big business and spending thousands of dollars don’t even have any money to pay for food and his hotel bills. At that time it raises red flags on me. I told him I am retired woman and I don’t have any money to send him.
A day after he apologized and said that his finance guy send him the money so I don’t have to worry about him. So our relationship still continues telling me how he loves me and talking about moving here in the US and I start believing the guy getting really in love with him. He send me some of his pictures and I send some of my pictures. This guy he even send me is passport picture because I told him I start not to trust him. So to make the story short I did some investigation and I checked his picture and passport and I was so distraught and shocked that both of the pictures are fake.
This guy use someones picture and identity. So I called him right away and I told him all the names u could imagine. Then he text me back to and calling me an idiot for believing what I found out. I told him he is a scammer and I will report him to the FBI . I’m glad I never sent him any money and I follow my gut feeling that there is something wrong with this kind of love. This guy uses the picture of a Prime Minister in UK and that is the picture I fell I’m love with.
In reply to Hi, a woman named Mary Greg by Mikefamman90
This could be a scam. It sounds like a prize scam. That's when someone says you won a prize, (and they won't say how much it is) but they want you to pay a fee before you get the prize. If the person tells you to wire the money, that's a big sign of a scam.
In reply to This could be a scam. It by FTC Staff
In reply to Anyone hear from a Wayne by Liisa
I truly believe my friend is being scammed,She is talking with a Well known Performer who is worth Millon's but he needs money from her to pay for their security while the go out,He tells her he loves her but I know he is full of crap.
This person has asked her toopen a new account and she did exactly that, He called her babu along sith many other sweet names,They only text but that's it. Help me please
In reply to I truly believe my friend is by Need help
You might tell your friend that some scammers pretend to be famous people so they can take money from innocent people. She could turn the tables on the imposter and help law enforcement - and the famous person she admires - by reporting the imposter.
The scammer may have asked her to open a new account becuase some scammers use people to help them transfer stolen money. They form "relationships", then ask their new sweethearts to open a new account. Then they ask their victims to receive and transfer money.
If a victim cooperates, her name is on the bank account and on the money transfer forms. If she is involved with one of these schemes, she could lose money and personal information, and she could get into legal trouble.
In reply to You might tell your friend by FTC Staff
In reply to She has already sent money by Need help
You might report the imposter's account to the social media site he is using. If you think a scammer is receiving money by wire transfer, you could report that to the wire transfer company Call the Western Union Fraud Hotline at 800-448-1492 or the MoneyGram Customer Care Center at 1‑800‑926‑9400. You could ask your local police, sheriff or bank manager if someone could talk to your friend about what happens if a person helps a scammer with a bank transaction or transferring money.
In reply to You might tell your friend by FTC Staff
normally I do not except FB friends if I don't know them but this one I did then he saw my picture and right away he wanted me/ well one comment lead to another until I fell into the love romance scheme told me alot about himself and that he was the oil driller out in Texas he sent me a picture of him on the rig.when he finished in Tx.they sent him to Santa Barbara,Ca about two weeks before he was to finish he said he liked four drillls and the machine broke and had no means out in the Ocean of getting any funds to have it fixed so finally he asked for help if I could help him it would cost 15,000 to fix if he had half he would the balance when he got home so I like a fool sent him 7000. and he finished up his job and now saying this boss will not release his funds because he did not finish his contract on time now he is saying the co.he worked for on contract will not release his funds because he went over his contract that he cannot leave the ship without the clearance coverage of 21,000
.so now he is still begging for help to get off the this ship so he can come and meet me I tryed pulling up his name and the information wants me to pay for that information and I feel it is to high so he says he lives in Salisbury,NC and want to take me their,he said they threatened to throw him overboard if he did not come up with the money because he is holding up the ship .can the port hold him their and not release the money owed him this way or is the trying to scam me into that much more money.
the did let me see the funds in his account but had not been released at that time that is what I do know if the funds has been transfered out of state or into another account all I have is his word of payback on the money already been given his name is Jack Herrington so tell me what to do or what I should do if he is truely honest I will feel so bad
In reply to normally I do not except FB by Don't use your…
This sounds like a scam. The stories he's been telling you are similar to stories other people write about here.
For example, he claims to be an American professional oil driller, but he has many problems that require large sums of money. Although he is supposed to be a professional working for a corporation, he does not have corporate funds, or a corporate account to manage his business, so he asks someone he recently met online to give him thousands of dollars.
He promises to come home soon, but keeps having disasters and asks you for more money. It's ok for you to say no, or block him on social media if you don't want to send more money. Scammers change names and pictures, and take pictures from other people's social media accounts. It can be hard to know if someone is "real" or not by looking for pictures. You could read some other comments here to see the stories other people have heard from people they met online.
In reply to This sounds like a scam. The by FTC Staff
In reply to Someone going by the name of by Frustrated
In reply to A man named Morgan Billy by Maria
This could be a scam. When you meet someone online, and he wants to send you a package, but says you must pay for it, that is a sign of a scam. He may claim that the shipment contains valuable documents, equipment or even gold. You may get calls or emails from "Customs" or "Tax" agents who demand more money before they will deliver the shipment. This could take a lot of your money.
In reply to A man named Morgan Billy by Maria
In reply to I have a friend who has been by Timoth51
You could offer your friend some information from the blog about warning signs of a scam. You could show her some comments that other people have written about their experiences.
In reply to You could offer your friend by FTC Staff
In reply to I'm a friend of the gentleman by Cdtampa
In reply to Hi there, not really sure how by LostAllHope
In reply to I left a comment dated 03/14 by georgia
Be careful with a guy named, George Harry from Japan as he claimed. Said that He's an engineer. He almost scammed a friend, asking for a help, send him money bec. he lost his wallet. He claimed to be very religious and came over in the Philippines to attend a Christian Worship conference. A Filipinas is helping her to scam professional ladies, with good work and so. They are using these numbers: +81345404968 +639498945481 They are professional scammers and liars.
In reply to Be careful with a guy named, by Found a Scamme…
In reply to Be careful with a guy named, by Found a Scamme…
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In reply to I’ve been scammed by this by fairy
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