{"id":28535,"date":"2025-06-25T13:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T21:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=28535"},"modified":"2025-06-24T13:33:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T21:33:43","slug":"common-romance-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/common-romance-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Romance Scams Roundup: All of the Romance Scams You Should Know to Keep Your Heart (and Bank) Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a sad fact, but true \u2013 so many of today\u2019s most common scams work by preying on and exploiting our trust, and our most human emotions. And that\u2019s even more true when it comes to online dating scams and romance scams, which take advantage of victims at their most vulnerable to break hearts and break the bank, too. Double ouch. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no shame in falling for romance scams \u2013 the FTC<\/a> reports at least 70,000 cases per year, with annual financial losses totaling about $1.3 billion \u2013 but there\u2019s also no shame in protecting your heart as best you can. If you\u2019ve met someone new and want to make sure they are who they say they are, try running a quick background check<\/a> before things get serious. Online dating can be scary enough as it is; keep an eye out for these common romance scams so you can focus less on heartbreak and more on feeling the love.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catfishing: Not Romantic At All<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While not all<\/em> online dating scams are catfishing<\/a>, the vast majority of them certainly are. Catfishing is the sketchy practice of hiding behind a fake online persona<\/a> to mislead someone, and it\u2019s most commonly associated with two things: exploiting romantic interests and scamming people out of their money. In the case of catfishing romance scams, that\u2019s a one-two combo.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where your Tinder scams<\/a>, Bumble scams, Hinge scams, sliding-into-your-DMs scams, and the like typically fall. In this case, a potential romantic interest appears, complete with a fake profile, fake pics, and a fake (but often convincing) backstory. After a flirtation that can last anywhere from minutes to months, the catfisher comes for your money. That\u2019s usually when the scam goes from catfishing to catphishing<\/em><\/a>, where phishing is the act of fooling you into divulging your private information (like passwords or bank account numbers) in order to target your finances.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that\u2019s the basic format of many online dating scams, catfishing-based romance scams come in a wide variety of flavors. And none of them are any good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Romance Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Catfishing romance scammers might cook up an entirely fictional online persona, or even an AI-generated one, or they might appropriate pics and details from an existing, real-world person. In any case, one of their favorite types of people to impersonate is military personnel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For grifters, a faux military profile accomplishes a lot. It can easily appeal to the victim\u2019s empathy, plus it offers plenty of excuses for why they never can seem to meet in person (a hallmark of catfish) or why a long-distance relationship is more convenient. When the time comes to get money out of the victim \u2013 a process that can go on for months \u2013 the military-themed scammer commonly uses excuses like paying for internet, retirement planning or travel costs (none of which are expenses for people enlisted in real life). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil Rig Scams <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This catfishing theme is very similar to military romance scams: long story short, it\u2019s convenient for scammers to claim to be an oi<\/a>l<\/a> rigger<\/a> or someone of a similar occupation who likely works in a remote locale, doesn\u2019t have regular internet access, and has to travel for long periods. These types of rugged, dangerous occupations are also ripe for making monetary requests under the guise of medical and travel expenses. Similarly, faux lovers claiming to be international workers use the guise to ask for money to travel to you, or to get their goods through customs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll give you one guess as to where that money actually ends up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steamier Scammers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some catfishing-based romance scams really emphasize the romance. For instance, in one especially sneaky type of hustle, the con artist poses as a sugar mama or sugar daddy<\/a>. It\u2019s common for these scammers to promise money in exchange for risque pics, which they can then use as ammunition for blackmail. Or, they might do a variation of an age-old scam where they pay you a large amount of money, and then ask for some back \u2013 sure enough, the money you\u2019ve received is typically from a bum source, like a stolen credit card, so the funds will bounce, leaving you holding the bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scammers posing as widows or widowers are also all too common. Like military romance scams, these follow the traditional catfishing-to-catphishing pipeline, but they emphasize a particularly common element of online dating scams: they often involve a sob story to help motivate victims to reach into their pockets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Catfish, But Still Fishy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not all romance scams revolve around catfishing. Unfortunately, you\u2019ll find that scammers are a pretty creative lot. Wish we saw that same energy when it came to first date ideas from real <\/em>people on dating apps, but in any case, be wary of these common types of online dating scams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crypto Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because it\u2019s so difficult to trace, crypto can be a big red flag<\/a> when it comes to online scams in general. In this instance, the fake bae gains your trust, then convinces you to invest in what they pitch as a surefire crypto deal. The twist is, the crypto app they\u2019re so excited about is often a bespoke (and very fake) app they\u2019ve created to funnel your funds. Of course, sometimes they\u2019ll just take your money via a straight-up Zelle or wire transfer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bogus Dating Sites<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Similar to creating a phony crypto app to funnel money right into their own bank account, it\u2019s not below romance scammers to create entire dating websites just to hustle unsuspecting romantics. These sham sites<\/a> pump up your confidence by plying you with matches, but beware of sign-up processes that ask a suspicious amount of finance-related questions or want you to divulge things that could be used to commit identity theft, like answers to common security questions (\u201cwhat was the name of your first pet?\u201d).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise, fraudulent dating sites might take your money by asking you to pay for perks while matching you with nothing but bots<\/a>. Or they might keep it simple and just infect your device with phishing malware, or take your credit card info. On the latter note, some romance scams simply rely on tricking you into clicking a link to infectious malware, and that link can be delivered anywhere, from Tinder scams to Bumble scams to DM, text<\/a>, or email scams.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This one\u2019s a bit different from the other online dating scams we\u2019ve covered. In a verification scam, criminals will pose as official communications channels for popular dating apps (this is also often called spoofing<\/a>). You might get a message claiming to be from Tinder, for example, asking you to click a link to \u201cverify your account,\u201d which requires you to input private information, like passwords, social security numbers, or financial data. As you may have guessed, that info isn\u2019t going to Tinder, it\u2019s going to creepy phishers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, this online dating scam isn\u2019t limited to Tinder. Scammers will adopt the guise and branding of whatever\u2019s popular at the time, so it could be a Hinge scam, a Bumble scam, a Coffee Meets Bagel scam \u2013 you get the idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Better Safe Than Heartbroken<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Love really is a battlefield, but you don\u2019t have to storm the beaches unarmed. While it\u2019s clear that romance scams come in as many varieties as there are phish in the sea, keep an eye out for these red flags<\/a> to protect your heart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n