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- Trust scams
Overview
A trust scam is when a scammer builds a personal relationship with you, often based on romance, friendship, or companionship. They gain your trust and create an emotional connection.
Once that trust is established, they exploit the relationship by asking for money or other forms of support. The scam relies on the bond they have created, so you feel like you are helping someone you genuinely care about.
Act now
If you think you are being scammed right now: stop all contact, do not send any more money or information, and call your bank on the number provided on their official website. Most banks have a 24-hour fraud line.
For general information on how to document scams and fraud, visit the page below.
Romance and friendship fraud
This usually begins through a dating app, social media or messaging platform. The relationship develops over weeks or months, building trust.
Then the person starts asking for money. The requests seem reasonable at first but become more frequent.
Additional steps for this situation
- Stop all payments immediately. Do not send anything further, regardless of promises of love, claims that funds will soon be repaid, or threats about what might happen if you stop.
- Save all evidence if you can before ending contact. Take screenshots of messages, photos, profile details, emails, and payment or transfer records. This information may be important if you decide to make a report, and it can disappear if accounts are deleted or blocked.
- Record any remaining contact if it feels safe to do so. This may provide useful evidence for reporting. If contact is distressing, threatening, or feels unsafe, stop communicating immediately.
- Report the profile to the platform, notify the dating app social media site or messaging service where contact began. Most dating apps and social media platforms have processes for reporting romance fraud.
- Verify any photos you received and do a reverse image search on any photos taken from another person's public profile.
What to realistically expect
Money transferred to romance scammers is very difficult to recover. Payments are usually made over time and are often irreversible by the time fraud is identified.
How you might feel
Trust scams cause two losses at once, the money, and a relationship that felt real. Grief, embarrassment and self-blame are common and normal. The relationship was designed by a professional to feel genuine.
What happened is not your fault. Anyone can be targeted by a trust scam regardless of their age, background or experience.
You are not alone, and support is available whether or not you make a report. Talking with trusted friends, family or support services can help.