12/05/2025
Romantic fraud, also known as “romance scams,” is a type of deception in which perpetrators create the illusion of a romantic relationship, often using social media or dating sites, with the aim of extorting money, confidential information, or even access to their victims' personal accounts.
This process often involves a long period of emotional manipulation, during which the scammers gradually gain the victim's trust.
Here are the key points to look out for when investigating such cases.
Falling in love quickly:
Scammers often demonstrate unexpectedly strong affection and emotional attachment to their victims in an extremely short period of time, which is one of their manipulation techniques.
Unnatural haste in relationships:
- Excessively intense emotional displays from the partner in the early stages of the relationship, such as declaring “love” or strong feelings after only a few days of communication.
- Attempts to initiate a deep emotional connection through rhetorical pressure, such as statements like “you are my destiny” or “we are made for each other.”
Avoiding meetings can manifest itself in the form of constantly rejecting video calls or evading face-to-face meetings, often with various excuses that seem reasonable. Avoiding real contact can be expressed through various reasons or grounds that become excuses for avoiding personal communication.
Such situations include refusing to participate in video calls, face-to-face meetings, or sending voice messages. This is often accompanied by explanations such as poor internet quality, technical problems with the camera or phone, or references to personal character traits such as excessive shyness, or even references to certain family traditions that allegedly do not allow this type of communication.
Another sign may be the use of other people's photos or images to represent themselves, which is easy to check using the reverse search function via Google Images
As for requests for money, the most common examples are the creation of dramatic or urgent situations, which in reality turn out to be just a mechanism for obtaining financial gain.
Typical situations:
- “I urgently need money for medicine or surgery.”
- “Money for tickets to come to you,” but then “problems” arise with the visa or transportation.
- “Help me pay off my debts, because I am in danger.”
- Appealing to emotions (“if you love me, then...”).
Inconsistencies in details:
- Contradictory information about professional activities, place of residence, or marital status, which may cast doubt on the reliability of the information.
- Use of texts copied from other profiles or typical boilerplate statements, which may give the impression of a lack of individuality and sincerity.
Other aspects that may raise suspicion:
- Use of messengers that allow anonymity, such as Telegram, which functions without being linked to a phone number. This method of communication may indicate an attempt to hide one's identity.
- Noticeable activity only at certain times. This may indicate both being in a different time zone and the likelihood of interacting with other victims during a certain period.
Actions to take if two or more signs are detected:
1. Immediately stop all financial transactions.
2. Save all available evidence, including correspondence and transaction data.
3. Contact specialists who will identify the fraudster and provide further advice.
