Losses hit $1.16 billion in just the first nine months of 2025. Here is what to watch for before it is too late.
AT A GLANCE — THE 6 WARNING SIGNS
Romance scams are escalating sharply. After a brief dip in reported cases in 2024, losses in 2025 have surged past all prior records — and the year is not over. The table below draws on the most recent FTC, FBI IC3, and Comparitech data available as of March 2026.
| Year | Reported Losses | Key Note |
| 2021 | $547 million | All-time high in report volume (59,690 cases) |
| 2022 | $1.3 billion | 18% drop in reported cases; losses still surged |
| 2023 | $1.14 billion | $2,000 median loss per victim — highest of any imposter scam |
| 2024 | ~$697 million (est.) | ~9% decrease in cases; pig butchering rising |
| 2025 (Jan–Sep) | $1.16 billion | 22% surge vs. same period 2024 — on pace to break records |
Note: 2024 full-year figure is an estimate based on Q1–Q3 FTC data (Comparitech, Feb 2025). 2025 figure covers January–September only (FTC Consumer Sentinel, Feb 2026). Pig butchering crypto losses — tracked separately by the FBI — are not fully reflected in FTC romance scam totals.
Modern romance scammers use AI-generated faces or stolen Instagram photos that look professional and polished to lure victims. A reverse image search — a tool that scans the internet for matching photos — can reveal whether the person you are talking to has multiple identities across platforms. If the "engineer from Chicago" also appears as a "doctor from London" on five different sites, you are dealing with a fake profile.
Be especially wary of photos that look like they belong in a fashion magazine or professional portfolio. Scammers also use deepfakes — AI-generated videos that mimic real people — to survive brief, blurry video calls. If their photos never show any change in age or style across months, the images were likely harvested from a single gallery all at once.
WHAT TO DO: Run every profile photo through Google Images (images.google.com) or TinEye (tineye.com) before investing emotionally in any new online connection.
What is love bombing?
Love bombing is a manipulation tactic in which a scammer overwhelms a target with intense affection — including declarations of love or marriage proposals — within the first 48 to 72 hours of contact. It creates an emotional bond that bypasses critical thinking and makes victims feel obligated to return the "affection" when the financial request arrives.
Criminals use high-intensity emotional grooming because it creates a chemical bond that overrides logical judgment. Watch for pressure phrases like "it was destiny that we met" or "I have never felt this way before" within the first two days of chatting. The goal is to make you feel uniquely special so that when the crisis arrives, your first instinct is to protect them — not your bank account.
In genuine relationships, emotional intensity grows gradually over shared experiences. If a stranger is discussing moving in together or planning a wedding before you have even had a video call, they are following a script, not a feeling.
Scammers want to move you off dating apps like Hinge or Bumble as quickly as possible to bypass those platforms' built-in fraud-detection tools. They will ask you to migrate to WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal — encrypted apps where their accounts are significantly harder for authorities to track or ban. If a stranger insists on leaving the dating app before you have had a single call, they are actively isolating you from the platform's security infrastructure.
Once in a private channel, scammers can use multiple "handlers" to run the same conversation — a recruiter who builds emotional rapport, then a closer who engineers the financial request. A subtle shift in grammar, vocabulary, or tone after the move to a new app is a common sign you have been handed to a different operator.
Scammers rely on staying invisible because they rarely look like the attractive person in their profile photos. They will enthusiastically agree to video calls, then cancel at the last second with excuses like "bad internet," a "broken camera," or "security protocols" tied to their supposed high-clearance military or engineering job. A real person who is interested in a relationship will make it work; a scammer will exhaust every excuse to stay as voice or text only.
Also, watch for location and time zone inconsistencies. If they claim to be in New York but their available hours align perfectly with Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia, they are likely operating out of a scam farm — organisations employing hundreds of people to manage thousands of fake profiles simultaneously, often using AI-translated scripts.
What is pig butchering?
Pig butchering is a romance scam variant in which a fraudster builds trust over weeks or months before introducing a fake cryptocurrency investment platform they control. The name refers to "fattening" a victim with small fake profits before stealing their entire savings in one move. The FBI reported $5.8 billion in crypto investment fraud losses in 2024 alone — a large share driven by this scam type.
The scammer does not initially ask for a loan. Instead, they offer to help you "grow your wealth," mentioning a relative who is a market expert or sharing screenshots of their own impressive daily profits. They walk you through a fake trading platform that looks legitimate, encourage you to deposit a small amount, and show you that it has "tripled" within a week.
When you attempt to withdraw, the platform demands "official fees" or "government taxes" before releasing funds. Once you pay those, the scammer disappears — along with every cent you deposited.
The clearest of all romance scam warning signs is a direct financial request — regardless of how urgent or emotionally compelling the story sounds. Common scenarios include a sudden medical emergency, a delayed military deployment, a business deal gone wrong, or a flight home. The payment method is nearly always untraceable: wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift card codes are essentially unrecoverable once sent.
Block anyone who asks for money in an online relationship, no matter how much trust has been built. The depth of the emotional connection was engineered specifically to make this moment harder to refuse. According to the FTC, the median loss per romance scam victim in 2023 was $2,000 — the highest of any imposter scam category — and individual losses frequently reach six figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I verify if a dating profile is real?
Run their profile photos through Google Images or TinEye to check whether the same photos appear elsewhere under a different name. Look for inconsistencies in their story and time zone, and insist on an unscheduled live video call — not a pre-recorded clip — before investing any more time.
What is love bombing?
Love bombing is when a scammer overwhelms you with affection, declarations of love, or marriage proposals within the first 48 to 72 hours of contact. It is designed to create an emotional bond quickly so you are less likely to question them when they eventually ask for money.
What is a pig butchering scam?
Pig butchering is a romance scam where the fraudster builds trust over weeks or months, then introduces a fake cryptocurrency investment platform. They show you fake profits to encourage larger deposits, then vanish with your entire balance once you try to withdraw.
How do I report a romance scammer?
Report the profile to the dating platform immediately. Then file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov and with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Acting quickly gives the best chance of recovering financial losses.
Think you are being targeted? Act now.
Stop all communication immediately and do not send any money. Financial losses reported quickly have the best chance of recovery.
• Report to the FBI: IC3.gov
• Report to the FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• Report the profile to the dating platform directly.
• Contact your bank immediately if money has already been sent.
Adam Collins is a cybersecurity researcher at ScamAdviser who operates under a pseudonym for privacy and security. With over four years on the digital frontlines and 1,500+ days spent deconstructing thousands of fraud schemes, he specializes in translating complex threats into actionable advice. Adam’s mission is simple: exposing red flags so you can navigate the web with confidence.
