What to do if your online love interest offers to teach you how to invest your money (2024)

Table of Contents
FAQs

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’scomputer user recordssystem. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’sPrivacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

I met a man online who turned out to have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He brainwashed me into falling in love with him, and I sent him money and gifts for 20 months. He was not the kind of Romance Scammer you are referring to here, but a different type of Love Scammer.
Thank you for warning people about these types of Online Scammers. We all need to learn everything we can, in order to protect ourselves!!

  • Reply

ALBERTO M. ARTEAGA

June 10, 2024

Thank You for this information

  • Reply

Patricia Gerner

June 10, 2024

Thank you ❤️

  • Reply

Tri tran

June 11, 2024

Why nobody put ads about scsmnrts ahead if their action . That helps if ftc fbi interpol pits out warning daily online before somebody getvl scamed its too late.

  • Reply

Randy Smith

June 11, 2024

I tell everyone, “If it sounds too good to be true, it is a scam”.

Beware all they want is your money. You worked hard for it, don’t give it away unless YOU want to.

  • Reply

Janet

June 12, 2024

This happened to a friend of mine. Before I heard about his "friend" she had convinced him to "invest" his entire savings. He introduced (on Whatsapp) her to me. She tried to get me to participate in her "passive income" gold buy and sell scam.
I finally got through to my friend by using an app that searches out photos on the dark web. This "nice lady" was using different names, had photos of her in some immodest poses and worse.
When he tried to get some of his money back the fake cryptocurrency app wanted him to pay the "taxes" to the app before it would release his money. His nice lady friend became hostile when he asked her for help.
He's now broke and broken hearted.

  • Reply

Murali

June 12, 2024

I am certain neither the Govt nor any Federal/State Agency has any interest in the Financial Well Being of its Citizens. Why do I say this? If the intent is clear then I would expect the least any serious Govt should do is to inform of the Public of the dirty sites milking its Citizens. Lo and behold I have searched the internet and also some AI chat sites including the Financial watchdogs whose duty is to alert of financial irregularities, but no where did I see any list of problem sites. This can only happen intentionally not otherwise. There is a nexus between all these agencies to gang up against the Citizens leaving them with no aid to recourse.
We are in a dire state of Financial manipulations. Too many agencies are conniving together to strip us all of what little we make and distribute it for all kinds of inexplicable deeds. Sad!

  • Reply
What to do if your online love interest offers to teach you how to invest your money (2024)

FAQs

What to do if your online love interest offers to teach you how to invest your money? ›

Scammers tell you how to send the money.

How do you know if you are chatting with a scammer? ›

You might be dealing with an online scammer if they request sensitive personal information, money, or insist on speaking on a chat app of their choice. You might be dealing with an online scammer if they request sensitive personal information, money, or insist on speaking on a chat app of their choice.

Will a romance scammer meet you in person? ›

Con artists are present on most dating and social media sites. The scammer's intention is to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself to the victim, and gain trust. Scammers may propose marriage and make plans to meet in person, but that will never happen.

How to report online romance scammer? ›

If you think you've been the victim of a romance scam, you can report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Also, you can file a complaint with the FTC or, if the scam was initiated by a phone call or text message, you can file a complaint with the FCC.

What are common scammer phrases? ›

The Dirty Dozen: "Classic" Scams and Pitches
1.It's your lucky day! You won the foreign lottery!
2.Burn fat while you sleep!!!
3.Free cash grants! Never repay!
4.This free seminar can change your life!
5.Make BIG money working from home!
7 more rows

How do I know if the person I am talking to online is real? ›

If you suspect you're dealing with a catfish, use an online reverse image search to find out if the person's photos are on anyone else's online profiles. You can also search their messages online. Take any particularly unique or romantic lines they've written to you and search to see if they pop up anywhere else.

What are three excuses a scammer uses? ›

Romance scammers will encourage secrecy and will influence you to only trust them. They may try to isolate you from your family and friends. There will always be an excuse why they can't meet in person or show themselves on camera. They say they live overseas or somewhere remote, or their technology isn't working.

What are the red flags of a scammer? ›

Unsolicited offers: Don't respond to unsolicited cold calls, emails, junk mail, late-night commercials or infomercials, or social media posts that are either overly attractive or fear-inducing. These are all common tactics scammers use to entice you to engage.

Would a romance scammer video call you? ›

Criminals are swiping people's pictures and using deepfake technology to pose as them in live video calls. It's a crafty scheme that is bringing them success, especially with romance scams. The crooks are brazen enough to post tutorials on social media so other criminals can do the same.

Would a scammer send pictures of themselves? ›

These scammers will often impersonate someone else and likely only have one or two images of the person they're pretending to be. In contrast, authentic dating site users often have multiple pictures of themselves in various situations ranging from face shots to full body shots.

Which dating site has the most fake profiles? ›

Main Findings. Facebook was mentioned the most as a Google Search suggestion for the topic of fake profiles; Tinder was the second most mentioned platform. Comparing only dating platforms, Tinder had the highest number of mentions—12—while Badoo came in second place with just 4 mentions.

How do I outsmart an online scammer? ›

  1. Don't click on links in an unsolicited email or text message.
  2. Don't use the phone number a potential scammer provided in an email or text message. ...
  3. Don't give out personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth, or Social Security numbers.
Feb 28, 2023

How long will a romance scammer talk to you? ›

They may also try to get you to make some investments or move money around on their behalf and they will almost always disappear as soon as you get too suspicious! How long do romance scams last? Scams can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

How do you beat a romance scammer? ›

How do you deal with a romance scammer?
  1. Cut off all contact; you may be tempted to stay in touch, but the only way to stay safe is to eliminate this person from your life.
  2. Never agree to send money to anyone you haven't met in person; if the scammer asks for money, refuse to send it.
Apr 12, 2023

How do you expose a romance scammer? ›

Report the scammer to the dating or social media site on which you met. This is important so the hosting platform can remove the scammer's profile and prevent them from victimizing others. You should also report the incident to the FTC and the IC3 (a branch of the FBI).

How do you deal with a love scammer? ›

BREAK UP WITH SCAMMERS

If you suspect you or a loved one are the victim of a romance scams, take action: Immediately stop communicating with the scammer. Note any identifiable information you may have on them, such as their email address or.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Barbera Armstrong

Last Updated:

Views: 5743

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Barbera Armstrong

Birthday: 1992-09-12

Address: Suite 993 99852 Daugherty Causeway, Ritchiehaven, VT 49630

Phone: +5026838435397

Job: National Engineer

Hobby: Listening to music, Board games, Photography, Ice skating, LARPing, Kite flying, Rugby

Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.