Data from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
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Find reporting by topic, place or language. Open a record to see why it was included and what the available evidence supports.
The chart uses every search filter above and all matching records, across every results page. The percentage denominator is all included URLs in the same dates, before theme, language, country or text filters.
Distinct included URLs matching these filters in each observation month. Select a point to explore its records. On small screens, scroll the chart horizontally.
A URL counts once per month and can appear in several months or themes. Themes describe the current record assessment; months show URL observations, not when events or each claim first appeared. Warnings, allegations and reported experiences are all included when coded. Partial months, collection gaps and changes in sources affect both measures. A higher share does not establish a higher risk to victims.
| Observation month | Matching URLs | All included URLs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 263 | 591 | 44.5% |
| Feb 2025 | 405 | 1,629 | 24.9% |
| Mar 2025 | 291 | 561 | 51.9% |
| Apr 2025 | 121 | 390 | 31.0% |
| May 2025 | 113 | 398 | 28.4% |
| Jun 2025 | 82 | 209 | 39.2% |
| Jul 2025 | 132 | 522 | 25.3% |
| Aug 2025 | 129 | 447 | 28.9% |
| Sep 2025 | 161 | 613 | 26.3% |
| Oct 2025 | 128 | 483 | 26.5% |
| Nov 2025 | 118 | 392 | 30.1% |
| Dec 2025 | 91 | 333 | 27.3% |
| Jan 2026 | 523 | 530 | 98.7% |
| Feb 2026 | 1,101 | 1,106 | 99.5% |
| Mar 2026 | 358 | 360 | 99.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 485 | 491 | 98.8% |
| May 2026 | 779 | 785 | 99.2% |
| Jun 2026 | 594 | 842 | 70.5% |
| Jul 2026 | 658 | 1,143 | 57.6% |
| Aug 2026 | 272 | 640 | 42.5% |
| Sep 2026 | 147 | 638 | 23.0% |
| Oct 2026 | 8 | 30 | 26.7% |
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
Chinese reporting names ScottCole, a63-year-old California/PalmSprings tai-chi/yoga instructor whose photos allegedly fuel false romance accounts for15years; claims hundreds of women/hundreds of millions remain attributed aggregates. The real image owner is not the alleged offender; claimed losses and time spans are not independently verified or additive incidents.
Related mentionBelgian woman in herseventies reportedly paidEUR7,000 to a falsePierreGarnier whilebelieving she was in arelationship. The title’s100,000 refers to purportedperformerwealth, not herloss. No actualhelp/reimbursement or preciseeventdate supplied.
Reported caseABelgian woman in herseventies reportedly sentEUR7,000 to afalsePierreGarnier onFacebook and cut familyties believing inlove. The performer is impersonated, not theperpetrator; relationalharm is source-attributed, not causalpsychologicalverification.
Reported caseThe Chinese headline names63-year-oldScottCole’s stolen photos used over15years as romance-pig-butchering personas and says women contacted the real person for relationships. Sparse repeated coverage does not quantify individual losses, establish real-offender identity or independently validate15years of cases.
Related mentionFrencharticleheadlinereports awomaninherseventies believinginaPierreGarnierrelationshipsince2024; paragraphdiscusses celebrityidentityusurpation intworecentcases. Keepyearprecisiononly asattributedperiodstart, noteachcase’s fulldateor acombinedloss.
Reported caseStatecyberpolice describe lovefraud as partnerluring victims into bogusinvestments andvanishing, withhighreturn complaints. Generalreportedmechanisms/warning are not measuredtrendgrowth or provedindividual cases.
Research & trendsOldenburgtrial description explains feignedrelationships inducing transfers and bankaccountfacilitation; headline identifies stolenIDdocuments. Keep trial/allegedfacilitation context, not completedconvictions, a victimtotal or identitywith otherBlackAxeproceedings.
Reported caseThe headline reports92.75lakh in romance fraud; the paragraph describes a purported model gaining women’s attention/trust. Currency marking is damaged, no named suspect or exact date supplied. Model persona and trust manipulation are attributed, not verified identity or quantified risk. Projecting oneself as a model is not explicit false identity. Retain trust manipulation without an impersonation application.
Reported caseA woman says she believed anInstagram contact wasJohnnyDepp and lostthousands ofpounds. Retain attributedimpersonation/loss/contact, not offenderidentity, country or anactualcelebrityrelationship.
Reported caseGermancelebrity article describes AI/deepfakes used inlove scams, fakeprizes and otherfraud. Preserve mixedtechnology/impersonation context, not actualvictimloss or measuredrankings for everycelebrity.
Research & trendsTwo LTN variants describe Taichung womanLi’s six-month online contact, Line/video calls, husband/wife language and proposedTWD2.5million deposit termination stopped by five bank/police staff. HongKong is the contact’s claimed residence, not verified offender operations; no completed loss or actual marriage inferred. Relationship trust manipulation is explicitly retained; do not simultaneously mark that parent code insufficient. This does not establish a false identity or an actual marriage.
Reported caseGerman source namesScottCole and stolenphotos used ondatingplatforms for15years. Title says this makes thetrainer’slifehell, but nonspecificidiom isnot aclinicaldiagnosis or actualmoneyloss tohim. Realimageowner isnot anoffender.
Related mentionTwo LTN variants describe Taichung womanLi’s six-month online contact, Line/video calls, husband/wife language and proposedTWD2.5million deposit termination stopped by five bank/police staff. HongKong is the contact’s claimed residence, not verified offender operations; no completed loss or actual marriage inferred. Relationship trust manipulation is explicitly retained; do not simultaneously mark that parent code insufficient. This does not establish a false identity or an actual marriage.
Reported caseThe article names California trainerScottCole and alleges scammers used his images to create romance/catfish profiles and solicit women’s finances globally. This is image-owner/multiple-claim context, not proved individual loss, actual involvement byCole or a verified total.
Related mentionSeven URL variants explicitly name ScottCole and alleged use of his picture to attract women over15years/since around2010. These are repeated image-owner accounts, not seven fraud cases or proof the real person offended. Around2010 remains an approximate source statement, not an exact incident date.
Related mentionRadio-news roundup mentions a PalmSprings man whose face was used in romance scams alongside unrelated government/penny stories. Keep photo-impersonation context, not a named victim or financial loss copied from fuller ScottCole reports. Other roundup topics are unrelated news, not other fraud mechanisms; remove mixed-fraud scope for this photo-owner item.
Related mentionGermancelebrity-persona coverage describes aBrandenburg woman believing she chatted withBenZucker and broaderfalsecelebrity love scams. No actual loss amount or realperformer involvement established; do not identify othercelebritycases by asharedpersona.
Related mentionOsaka police report a self-employed male in his sixties losing gold bullion/other assets worth aboutJPY440million after SNS investment approaches from a purported woman. Fuller variants describe never meeting and police suspecting exploitation of affection; sparse variants do not borrow those details. HongKong is a claimed persona residence, not real offender operations; relativeJuly/13th do not supply a year. This individual paragraph explicitly says police suspect exploitation of romantic feelings and are investigating. Retain alleged trust manipulation here; shorter variants do not borrow it.
Reported caseGermancelebrity-persona coverage describes aBrandenburg woman believing she chatted withBenZucker and broaderfalsecelebrity love scams. No actual loss amount or realperformer involvement established; do not identify othercelebritycases by asharedpersona.
Related mentionOsaka police report a self-employed male in his sixties losing gold bullion/other assets worth aboutJPY440million after SNS investment approaches from a purported woman. Fuller variants describe never meeting and police suspecting exploitation of affection; sparse variants do not borrow those details. HongKong is a claimed persona residence, not real offender operations; relativeJuly/13th do not supply a year. This individual paragraph explicitly says police suspect exploitation of romantic feelings and are investigating. Retain alleged trust manipulation here; shorter variants do not borrow it.
Reported caseOsaka60sman gold/otherassets440million report explicitly says police suspect exploit ofromanticfeelings, withemail/phone contact and aclaimedHongKong female persona. Keep reportedassets/investment/contact distinct from verifiedidentity or realHongKong operations;July/13thgive noyear. This individual paragraph explicitly says police suspect exploitation of romantic feelings and are investigating. Retain alleged trust manipulation here; shorter variants do not borrow it.
Reported caseSeven URL variants explicitly name ScottCole and alleged use of his picture to attract women over15years/since around2010. These are repeated image-owner accounts, not seven fraud cases or proof the real person offended. Around2010 remains an approximate source statement, not an exact incident date.
Related mentionSeven URL variants explicitly name ScottCole and alleged use of his picture to attract women over15years/since around2010. These are repeated image-owner accounts, not seven fraud cases or proof the real person offended. Around2010 remains an approximate source statement, not an exact incident date.
Related mentionSeven URL variants explicitly name ScottCole and alleged use of his picture to attract women over15years/since around2010. These are repeated image-owner accounts, not seven fraud cases or proof the real person offended. Around2010 remains an approximate source statement, not an exact incident date.
Related mentionSeven URL variants explicitly name ScottCole and alleged use of his picture to attract women over15years/since around2010. These are repeated image-owner accounts, not seven fraud cases or proof the real person offended. Around2010 remains an approximate source statement, not an exact incident date.
Related mention