Romance scams: the love that always needs a wire transfer
Months of real-feeling conversation, then a crisis only money can fix. The person may be fake; your loss is painfully real.
The shape
They found you online. The photos are attractive, the attention is constant — and something always prevents meeting: an oil rig, a deployment, a hospital abroad. Then the crisis: a customs fee, a plane ticket, a frozen bank account. Each payment is followed by another emergency.
The rule
Anyone you have never met in person who asks for money is not who they say they are. However long it has been. However real it feels. There are no exceptions to this rule anywhere.
Getting out
- Stop sending money — including "one last" payment to unlock earlier money. That is part of the script.
- Keep the messages; screenshot everything. Then cut contact. Expect a heartbreaking final plea; it is also part of the script.
- Report to your bank, at ic3.gov, and at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- Tell one person you trust. Shame is the scammer's best friend — these operations are staffed call centers that do this to thousands of kind people at once.
Not sure how exposed you are? Our free check shows which leaks your email is in — about one second, and you keep the answer. And if you are in the middle of something right now, a person answers at contact@protectindiana.org.