Someone you met online or on a dating app, and never in person, asks for money, gift cards or crypto, or wants to teach you to invest. The signs, and what to do.
I wish I could be there with you. My visa fee is $1,200 and my bank account is frozen. I'll pay you back the day I land.
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I wish I could be there with you. My visa fee is $1,200 and my bank account is frozen. I'll pay you back the day I land.
My uncle taught me crypto trading. I made $40,000 last month. Let me show you, I want us to build a future.
I'm working on an oil rig and can't get to my money. Can you buy Apple gift cards and send me photos of the backs?
Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.
You never meet. A trip keeps falling through; video calls fail or the camera is “broken”.
Then a need for money: a ticket, a visa, a hospital bill, customs fees, or an investment they want to teach you.
Lots of messages as soon as you join, on a site that makes you pay to reply. Many of those “people” are the site's own bots.
Strong feelings, fast, and a move from the app to WhatsApp or another chat.
Their photos belong to someone else. An image search can show the same photos under other names.
Don't send money, gift cards or crypto to someone you haven't met in person.
Talk to someone you trust about it. Scammers often ask you to keep it secret.
Search their photos with an image search, and their name with “scam”.
Still not sure? Check the message. We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.
Report their profile in the app. If you sent money, tell your bank first, then your police or your country's fraud reporting service.
In the US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC's website, opens in a new tab)
It takes weeks or months. By the time money comes up, it feels like helping someone you love.