Is it love or is it a lie? 5 signs you’ve been scammed by a romance scam

Financial fraud comes in many forms, but the most damaging is romance fraud. The hurt isn’t just financial. People often develop feelings for someone they believe they know, and betrayal can leave emotional wounds that take months or years to heal.

Because you are in a difficult position, the best scenario is to recognize the signs before you fall for them. Below we’ll explain what you can do if you think you’ve encountered a romance scammer.

5 signs of a romance scam

Romance scams often start out as traditional romances. They often start with a dating site or app, which may seem like it’s going really well at first. However, in these cases, the scammer simply builds trust and asks for money or personal information that can be used to extort the victim. Here are five signs to look out for:

1. They fall in love quickly

Cheaters are not actually involved in the relationship. They want things to get serious as quickly as possible so they can make some money and get out. Many people claim that they are in love and praise their victims.

If you set a boundary or ask them to slow down, they may feel offended. But don’t let this stop you from following your intuition. You should only move at a pace that is comfortable for you.

2. Want to communicate more privately

Dating sites and apps often have tools to identify and remove scammers from their platforms. It’s not perfect. New scammers are added every day, making it difficult to keep up with all of them.

To avoid getting caught, many scammers try to get users to quickly leave the site or app so they can continue talking without fear of being caught. Once again, this is a situation where you have to trust your intuition. If in doubt, politely decline.

3. Don’t share many photos

Scammers don’t want you to know them too well. Many people use fake profile pictures stolen from other people. It may seem plausible at first glance, but if you dig deeper using reverse image search, you may find photos that come from unexpected places.

Of course, AI adds a new layer to all of this. Now it’s easier than ever for scammers to create fake photos that look real. Sometimes you can identify these photos by looking closely at the details. For example, AI-generated people sometimes have four or six fingers instead of five. However, we can expect this technology to improve over time, and when it does, photos may no longer be a reliable way to determine the legitimacy of an online profile.

4. They don’t want to meet you in person

Most romance scams occur online. Scammers will often use excuses, such as working in the military or on an oil rig, to explain why they can’t meet you in person. Others may set a date and time to meet you but not show up, claiming there was some kind of emergency.

5. Ask for money

The whole point of romance scams is to get money out of people. So the scammer ends up creating an emergency by claiming he needs money. Or you could say that they can teach you how to invest better. Either way, the end result is that they want you to send them your hard-earned money.

Even more suspicious are cases where money is requested in hard-to-trace ways, such as gift cards or cryptocurrency. Requesting a wire transfer is also a red flag. Refusing to send funds may make scammers angry, but it’s important to stand your ground and say no.

What to do when you encounter a romance scammer

If you encounter a romance scammer, it’s important to protect yourself first. Stop all communication with the scammer and do not provide any more personal information. If you have previously shared personal information with them that could give them a clue to your account password (such as your mother’s maiden name), change your password and security questions immediately.

Then take steps to protect others. If the person contacts you on a dating site or app, notify the company that operates the site immediately so they can deactivate your profile. You must also notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Provide every detail you know about the person, including the platform he or she contacted you on, the name he or she used, and how he or she attempted to get money from you. If possible, it may be helpful to save screenshots of some of your conversations.

Anyone who has already provided cash to a romance scammer should file a police report with their local police station. You should also take the above steps to avoid further losses.

Especially after investing so much time and energy into getting to know someone. But try to give yourself grace. These scammers are cunning and anyone can fall into their trap. Keeping the above steps in mind and keeping your personal information private until you can trust the other person can help you avoid falling for a romance scam again.

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