Romance scams and online relationship fraud
Met someone online? Know the signs before you send anything.
A romance scam is a fake relationship built to get money. It is planned, professionally run, and not personal: it works on thoughtful people because it is built to feel real. Here is how to spot one, what to do, and where to get help. Nothing you do on this site is saved.
- Someone is asking me for moneyA 60-second pause. Two questions, then exactly what to do.
- Check a relationshipPrivate. Six questions, about 30 seconds.
- I have already sent moneyAct fast. Who to call, and what to say.
Also: helping someone else · blackmailed with photos or video · under 18, or helping a young person · what usually comes next · how scams work
Already paid, or being threatened? Call now.
India
Call 1930, the National Cyber Crime Helpline, or report at cybercrime.gov.in.
Australia
Call your bank first, then report at ReportCyber (cyber.gov.au/report).
United Kingdom
Call 159 to reach your bank’s fraud team, then report to Report Fraud.
Elsewhere, or for more contacts: all help contacts.
What is a romance scam?
Someone you meet online, on a dating app, social media, a game or a message, builds a close relationship over days or weeks. Then comes a request for money: an emergency, a trip, a fee, or a chance to invest. The person is not who they say they are.
Some scams, called romance baiting (the news sometimes uses another name, which INTERPOL asks people to stop using because it blames victims), lead you step by step into a fake investment platform. Early “profits” are shown, and when you try to withdraw, new fees appear.
What to do
Five rules that stop most of it
Never send money, gift cards, or crypto to someone you have not met in person, however long you have talked.
A person who is genuine can usually manage a short live video call. If it is always impossible, treat that as an answer. Be aware that fake video and cloned voices exist, so a call is never proof on its own.
A move to a private app, a request for secrecy, or “do not tell your bank” are reasons to slow down, never to speed up.
Investment advice from someone you met online is a warning sign, even with screenshots of profits.
Tell one person today. Scams depend on secrecy, and the simplest defence is to say it aloud.
See it unfold
How a scam unfolds, and what a bank could do
Almost every case follows the same six-stage path. Choose a country and an example to see the payments over time, and what a bank could notice and do. These are examples, not real people. Breaking the pattern at any one stage is enough, and the earlier the better.
Illustrative scenario
Romance baiting into a fake trading platform
A person meets someone on a dating app. Over five weeks the conversation moves to a private app, an investment is suggested, and payments grow.
This person’s usual pattern: Usual payments are rent, utilities and small purchases. Typical payment A$85, spending out each month A$2,400.
Event log (the same information as the chart)
| Day | Type | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dating service | A$30 | Subscription to a dating service. |
| 12 | Payment | A$100 | First payment to an unfamiliar payee. |
| 14 | Crypto purchase | A$500 | First-ever crypto purchase. |
| 19 | Payment | A$800 | Payment 1 of 3 on the same day. |
| 19 | Payment | A$800 | Payment 2 of 3 on the same day. |
| 19 | Payment | A$800 | Payment 3 of 3 on the same day. |
| 25 | Loan received | A$10,000 | Personal loan received. |
| 26 | Money transfer | A$9,500 | Most of the loan sent on within a day. |
| 31 | Payment | A$12,000 | Large payment to a new crypto wallet. |
What the model notices
- How unusual the payments are
- High
- Money that could be lost
- High
- How sure the model is
- High
- 1
The approach
Someone finds you.
- 2
Fast closeness
Trust is built quickly, and moved somewhere private.
- 3
Money enters the conversation
Wealth, an emergency, or an opportunity appears.
- 4
A small ask
A low-value request tests whether you will pay.
- 5
Bigger, and secret
Amounts grow, and you are told to hide it.
Furthest stage reached
- 6
The trap closes
Fees block your money; threats or silence follow.
What a bank could do here
Pause the next payment if the law allows, and make a personal call
- The person told the bank: “They told me to keep this secret from family, friends, or my bank, or to give bank staff a different reason for a payment.” Honest partners do not ask you to mislead the people who could protect you.
- Wallet-0C9 appears in 4 other cases across 3 institutions. In plain words: the same account was linked to other people who were targeted. Banks can share only a scrambled code of the account, never any personal details, and only where the law allows (modelled here).
- A$500 to Exchange-X on day 14. No earlier crypto activity in this history.
Three kinds of evidence agree: unusual payments, what the person reported, and an account already linked to other victims. The model suggests the safest step that fits the risk, and explains why.
These are modelled examples, built from published descriptions of how these scams unfold. They are not records of real people. A person makes every real decision.
Why it works
It works on thoughtful people, and here is why
It feels real, because the feelings are real.
Closeness is built over days and weeks, with daily messages and quick declarations of strong feelings. Real relationships grow this way too, so the feeling cannot tell you which is which. What differs is what happens around money, meeting in person, and secrecy.
The first request is small.
Fraudsters often begin with a low-value payment. It builds trust and looks ordinary, so larger requests feel like a natural next step.
It is run like a business.
Investigators raided one scam compound and found more than 300 computer towers and 1,000 mobile phones. A study of scam manuals found scripted tactics. Many are organised operations, not one person.
Sources: National Anti-Scam Centre, 31 January 2025; Asyalı, 2026
Shame keeps people quiet.
Some people do not report romance scams because of stigma or shame. Secrecy helps the scammer, and telling one person breaks it.
Read the full explanation: how it works, and why people do it
The numbers
What the official data shows
Figures from official government and agency websites for Australia, the United Kingdom and India, one country at a time. They count only what was reported, so the true total is higher, and every chart links to its source.
Showing Australia. Choose a country above to see the others.
Australia combines five reporting sources and removes overlaps, which gives the fullest national picture of the three.
Romance scam losses, all reporting sources combined
A$ millions
Losses fell 10.8% in 2025. Romance scams moved from the second-largest category by loss to the third.
Show the numbers
| Period or item | A$ millions |
|---|---|
| 2024 | A$156.8m |
| 2025 | A$139.9m |
Does not show: Only two years are shown because earlier editions combine sources differently, and reported losses are a floor.
Losses to all scams, all reporting sources combined
A$ billions
Combined losses peaked in 2022 and have been around two billion dollars a year since 2024.
Show the numbers
| Period or item | A$ billions |
|---|---|
| 2021 | A$1.8bn |
| 2022 | A$3.1bn |
| 2023 | A$2.7bn |
| 2024 | A$2.0bn |
| 2025 | A$2.2bn |
Does not show: The report's method changed between years, so compare years with care.
Checking a suspicious message or link? Try TRACE Shield. Worried about a payment? TRACE Vireth helps with the payment itself. See how the TRACE systems fit together.