A love scam is an online scam that tricks people seeking relationships and steal their money, personal information, or both. This type of scam often starts on dating sites, social media, or emails, and scammers pretend to be the person they’re really interested in. Scammers often spend weeks or even months building relationships with victims, defrauding them of money or gifts.

Love scams not only bring financial losses to the victim, but also an emotional blow to the victim, because the victim feels betrayed and ashamed after realizing that he or she has been cheated.

How does love scam work?

Initial contact:

Scammers usually contact victims through dating sites, social media or email. They often pretend to be people with similar interests and values, using flattering language to create the illusion of a strong emotional connection.

Building trust:

Fraudsters gradually build relationships by sharing (usually falsified) personal information and frequent communication. They may also send pictures stolen from real people or images made from library images. This helps to establish an emotional connection with the recipient.

Emergency or Difficulties:

After building trust, scammers often fabricate personal crises or emergencies, such as health problems, business problems, or family emergencies, and claim to need financial assistance. They may also claim to be overseas and need money to return home or solve their problems.

Ask for money or gifts:

Finally, scammers often ask victims for money or gifts under the pretext of an imminent emergency. They usually make situations seem urgent and claim that financial aid for victims is the only solution. Scammers use a variety of tactics to exploit the victim’s emotions and sense of responsibility in an attempt to convince them that their request is genuine.

Repeatedly asking for money:

After the victim sends money, the scammer may make up new excuses to ask for financial assistance again. With the passage of time, fraud requirements are getting higher and higher, and victims often unknowingly export more and more money.

Disappeared:

After drawing large amounts of money, scammers can suddenly cut ties with victims. They may also cut off all ties or make excuses not to continue the relationship. Victims may feel betrayed and financially deprived.

Warning Signs of Love Fraud

Words of Love:

Even if you’ve only recently met the victim, the scammer may be trying to express deep love.

Contradictory or ambiguous personal experiences:

Scammers may provide contradictory details or refuse to provide specific information about their life, place of residence or background.

Ask for money or gifts:

Be wary of money requests from people you know online (especially those you’ve never met), especially in an emergency.

Refusal to meet:

Scammers may avoid face-to-face meetings or switch to video calls. They may also use the excuse of not being able to meet.

Rude and rude:

Unverifiable information: Scammers may provide difficult or untrustworthy personal information, such as military service or business investment.

Unusual payment methods:

Be wary of requests to send money in untraceable ways like wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrencies.

+ The impact of love scams

Economic loss: Victims often lose huge amounts of money, sometimes as high as tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, making such scams one of the worst-out-of-pocket scams.

Emotional harm: Victims may be ashamed, guilt, and sadness for being manipulated, betrayed, and lost trust in others.

Long-term impact: Victims of love scams feel isolated and distrustful in future relationships, and financial losses can take years to recover.

How to protect yourself from love scams

Careful handling of network relationships:

Before sharing personal information or engaging in feelings, take the time to fully understand each other.

Beware of warning signals:

Be vigilant for those who easily show love or ask for money, especially if you have never met.

Don't send money to strangers:

Never send money, give gifts or provide personal financial information to people you have never met.

Verification of each other's identity:

If in doubt, search the image incorrectly to see if it is already used on other online platforms.

Talk to trusted friends:

If you are unsure about the authenticity of a network relationship, consult a close friend or family member for their opinion.

What if you have a love scam?

Cut off the link:

Immediately stop all contact with scammers and block them on all platforms.

Reporting fraud:

Report this fraud to the fraudster's initial contact with your platform, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), or the relevant consumer protection agency in your country.

Contact your bank or credit card company:

If you have already sent money, contact your bank or credit card company immediately to report fraudulent transactions and seek to recover money.

Seek emotional support:

Recovering from love scams can be emotionally challenging. You can consider consulting a counselor or joining a scam victim support group.

Stay alert and watch for signs of love scams, and you can protect yourself and those around you from such scams and avoid the emotional and financial double whammy. Scammers often avoid face-to-face meetings or use video calls, and may make excuses for not being able to meet. Scammers often avoid face-to-face meetings or use video calls, and may make excuses for not being able to meet. Economic loss: Victims often lose huge amounts of money, sometimes as high as tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, making such scams one of the worst economic losses.