Protect yourself from romance scams

Who is really behind the keyboard?

Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals, and in 2024, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) saw a rise in scams that combine romance and investment fraud. These scams often begin on dating apps or social media, where fraudsters build trust before attempting to manipulate victims into sending money or investing in fraudulent schemes—particularly cryptocurrency. 

A scammer may approach you on a legitimate dating site or a fake one they’ve created, often using stolen photos and a convincing backstory. Once they establish a connection, they may:

• Appeal to your emotions by pretending to be in distress—claiming to have a sick family member or an urgent financial crisis.
• Promise financial gains by boasting about their cryptocurrency investments and offering to help you "get rich."
• Suggest an in-person meeting to make their fraud seem more credible before asking for money.
• Once trust is established, they will push for financial transactions, and once they receive the money, they often disappear.

How to Protect Yourself

Keep your guard up and follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a romance scam:

• Never send money or share financial details with someone you’ve only met online.
• Trust your instincts, ask questions, and carefully read the terms and conditions before signing up. If something feels off, it probably is.
• Know which services free, which ones cost money and what it takes to cancel your account.
• Make sure you only use legitimate and reputable dating sites. Always check website addresses carefully, as scammers often mimic real web addresses
• Be skeptical of fast-moving relationships. Genuine connections take time—someone declaring love after just a few messages is a red flag.
•  Watch out for common scam tactics, including: Asking for money for travel, medical emergencies, or family assistance.
• Requesting you to receive or transfer money on their behalf. You might unknowingly be committing a crime 
• Inviting you to join a business or investment opportunity—especially cryptocurrency-related schemes.
   

Variations on a scam 

Combining romance and investment scams

They may even let you cash out some of your investment returns only to get you to invest a larger amount. Suspects will “coach” you on how to invest in their fraudulent crypto currency platforms. Unfortunately, once you request to withdraw their investment, you can’t.

Relationship investment fraud phishing

Sometimes referred to as approval phishing. Fraudsters deceive you into granting access to your cryptocurrency accounts by those posing as trusted services. After they coach you on how to acquire cryptocurrency, they send you a fake request appears to come from the crypto service, asking you to “approve” access to your wallet. By clicking “approve,” you unknowingly give control of you funds fraudster. The fake requests closely mimic legitimate apps and services, making them look authentic. In some cases, you may receive a transfer request asking you to click on a link to accept and you may unknowingly be providing the “approval” to access your wallet.

Look out for these red flags and be suspicious if:
 

• Someone you haven’t met in person professes their love to you
• The person wants to quickly move to a private or different mode of communication (email, text, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts etc.)
• They always have an excuse not to meet in person
• You receive poorly/oddly written messages, sometimes even addressing you by the wrong name
• The individual claims to live close to you but is working overseas
• They act distressed or angry to guilt you into sending money
• The individual discourages you from discussing them or their situation with your friends and family (attempting to isolate you from those who may be suspicious of the relationship)
• They offer to “coach” you on crypto investing and encourage you to invest into crypto currency.

How to protect yourself

• Don’t give out your personal information (name, address, DOB, SIN, banking credentials)
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you do not know
• Don’t invest your money in platforms provided by people you don’t know
• Never send money to someone you haven’t met
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on your accounts
• Beware of fraudsters asking you to open and fund new crypto accounts, they will direct you to send it to wallets they control. 
• Never grant access to your crypto account or any other financial or personal account 

Fraud prevention is a responsibility we all share. Protecting our members is our priority. Providing the information, education, and techniques that you can use to protect yourself and to learn how to spot and stop fraud is our first step. 

Remember that fraud can happen anytime, anywhere, and to anyone—including you. Visit our fraud prevention centre for more information and to read our Fraud Files: Spot the red flags,  our series of real -life member stories about fraud. 
 

Source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centret, Recent Scams and Fraud, (2025-02-13)
https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/romance-rencontre-eng.htm