What should you do if you suspect a dating scam?

Romance scams often build trust before introducing money, an emergency, an investment or a request for sensitive information. A single unusual message is not proof, but a payment request from an online romantic contact is a reason to stop and verify independently.

Know the high-risk requests

The FTC describes scammers who move conversations off-platform, claim they cannot meet, and later request money for travel, medical costs or other emergencies. It warns against sending money or gifts to a romantic interest you have not met in person. The FBI also warns about requests involving wire transfers, prepaid cards, cryptocurrency or supposed investments (FBI romance-scam guidance).

Stop when someone asks for:

• money, gift-card codes, cryptocurrency or a transfer through your account;
• an investment on a platform they selected;
• bank logins, one-time verification codes or identity documents;
• intimate material under pressure or a payment to prevent its release;
• a “recovery fee” after you have already lost money.

Meeting once or completing a video call does not make a financial request safe.

Preserve evidence before blocking

Save screenshots of the profile, usernames, phone numbers, messages, payment details, receipts, dates and the platform used. Do not keep engaging simply to investigate, and do not threaten the person. If coercive control or stalking is involved, seek a specialist safety plan before making changes that could alert the other person.

Reverse-image search can reveal that a picture appears under another name, but a clean result does not authenticate a person. Treat verification badges and calls as limited signals, not proof of intentions.

Act quickly after a payment

Contact the bank, card issuer, transfer service, gift-card company or crypto exchange immediately and say that the transaction may be fraudulent. Ask what recall or account-protection steps are available; recovery is not guaranteed.

Report the account in the app and use your country’s official fraud-reporting route. The FTC directs U.S. users to ReportFraud.ftc.gov; the FBI directs reports to IC3.gov. Elsewhere, use the official national police or fraud authority rather than a “recovery agent” that contacts you unsolicited.

Finally, tell someone you trust. Scammers use secrecy and shame to sustain contact. Being manipulated is not the victim’s fault. Review our privacy checklist after reporting and change reused passwords if account details may have been exposed.