Romance Scams: Red Flags Before You Send Money or Personal Details

Romance scams often do not begin with money. They begin with attention, urgency, flattery, secrecy, or a story that makes you feel responsible for helping.

A scammer may spend days or weeks building trust before asking for cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency, banking details, private photos, account codes, or help with an emergency.

Common warning signs

Be careful when someone wants to leave the app immediately, refuses normal verification, avoids meeting in public, claims a sudden crisis, asks for money, asks for gift cards or crypto, sends suspicious links, or pressures you to keep the relationship secret.

Do not send money

The FTC's consumer guidance is direct: do not send money to an online love interest. Gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, and cryptocurrency can be very hard or impossible to recover.

Protect private information

Do not share your home address, workplace, daily routine, banking information, identity documents, account codes, or private photos with someone who has not earned trust. If someone threatens to expose private images or information, save evidence, block, report, and seek help.

Use reporting tools

Report suspicious profiles and messages. Reports help platforms see repeated patterns and remove accounts that are targeting people.

For more information, read the FTC's guidance on romance scams.