6 Signs of Romance Scams You Should Know (and How to Protect Yourself)
Sixsignsguide onearlymoneyrequest/socialchannels/report/block. Prospectivewarning notactualpolicereport orfinancialloss, nofabricatedpersona detailed.
Prevention & supportData from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
Search the research collection
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 | 352 | 591 | 59.6% |
| Feb 2025 | 489 | 1,629 | 30.0% |
| Mar 2025 | 209 | 561 | 37.3% |
| Apr 2025 | 162 | 390 | 41.5% |
| May 2025 | 232 | 398 | 58.3% |
| Jun 2025 | 86 | 209 | 41.1% |
| Jul 2025 | 272 | 522 | 52.1% |
| Aug 2025 | 253 | 447 | 56.6% |
| Sep 2025 | 273 | 613 | 44.5% |
| Oct 2025 | 251 | 483 | 52.0% |
| Nov 2025 | 174 | 392 | 44.4% |
| Dec 2025 | 200 | 333 | 60.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 222 | 530 | 41.9% |
| Feb 2026 | 447 | 1,106 | 40.4% |
| Mar 2026 | 175 | 360 | 48.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 239 | 491 | 48.7% |
| May 2026 | 171 | 785 | 21.8% |
| Jun 2026 | 214 | 842 | 25.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 469 | 1,143 | 41.0% |
| Aug 2026 | 319 | 640 | 49.8% |
| Sep 2026 | 373 | 638 | 58.5% |
| Oct 2026 | 17 | 30 | 56.7% |
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
Sixsignsguide onearlymoneyrequest/socialchannels/report/block. Prospectivewarning notactualpolicereport orfinancialloss, nofabricatedpersona detailed.
Prevention & supportWu76 accusedcourier arrested claimsprior warzone-romancemoneyloss leadingtooffending. Participantclaimingvictimization distinct from proveninnocence, coercion orconviction. Current source-specific layer: All24 codes assessed. Wu76's reported790000 personal Romance loss differs from five cash collections totaling4000000 facilitation funds. Preserve her contested participant/victim roles rather than presuming coercion or legal innocence. Douyin warzoneUkraine persona is impersonation, not operator nationality/location. Separate48 female Facebook/LINE parcel/customs120000 payment and770000 further demand lack their own romantic bridge and are not all Romance losses or Wu's funds. Police trap, arrest/referral not conviction, actual repayment, family/housing/clinical harm, extortion, formal forged ID or verified network. Poverty alone is not post-scam harm; financial-disruption application remains explicitly her attributed claim. Bare last-year-Nov/yearlessJan15/17 not normalized from observation dates.
Reported caseNordsachsenLoveScam andnude-imageblackmail combinedreport. Sextortion keptmixedscheme/sourceassociation, notallRomancevictims sexualabuse.
Prevention & supportTaketa30male180万円 Romancepolice announcement; notexplicitinvestigation orcopiedfullmethod.
Reported caseUtsunomiya61malephysician8259.38万円cryptotransfer suspectedRomance explicitinvestigation; cryptoassetnotinvestmentpromise withoutownbridge.
Reported caseNagasaki2024 provisional168mixedSNSinvestment/Romance11.08億; not uniqueRomance-onlylosses ordetailedmechanisms.
Research & trendsFalseBrad865000 impersonationcase/prevention. No ownexplicitAIformat fromAIguideheadingorclinicalcause.
Reported caseSalzburg72Germanresident79000falsemusician repeatedchannels sinceNovember2024 complaint. ATresidencenotDEvictimcountry; sourcecontactsnotcountcases.
Reported caseFrench53 all-savings falseBradAI, seekingNigeria suspects not independently verifiedlocation or completedinvestigation.
Reported caseMie302investment/Romance27億 versus12億specialfraud. Source lastyearrelative notautomatic incidentyear; totalnotRomance-only.
Research & trendsNasushiobara49female26万円cash datingapp complaint/investigation explicit. Investigatornotverifiedguilt orfabricatedpersona.
Reported caseAnne53 falseBradAIphotos life-savings loss andlegalteamalleges threeNigerians. Seekingunmasking notcompletedinvestigation; identities unverified.
Reported caseAucklandmale50k actualfinancialloss/promisedgains; title selfblame sourcequoted, not endorsedresearchdiagnosis.
Reported casePang35k onlineRomanceloss andsubjectselfmocking age/youngladyquote. Subjectself-blame distinct from endorsedresearchview; no detailed platform/persona fromothercopies.
Reported caseAucklandmale nearly50000 promisedfinancialgain/betterlife sourceRomance; title foolingmyself self-blame notpsychologicaldiagnosis.
Reported case44fivewomen notoriety15convictions/sixmarriages source three-yearsentence. NotallpriorconvictionsRomance, noactualservedterm or repeatedtargeting fromhistory. Current source-specific layer: All24 codes assessed. Retain reported final sentence; nearly160000 concerns five women and the own reported proceeding, not independent net loss reconciliation. Tinder is this own source's platform. Near-complete admission not automatically formal guilty plea; fifteen prior convictions and six marriages not all Romance offenses or repeated exploitation of the same target. Eight months remand differs from imposed term and all term served. Clothing/body-description is not automatically victim blame. No ORF-only violence, fabricated illness detail, country role or exact date borrowed into Krone; no inferred refund, serious harm, investment, coercion, forged ID or network. Qualified case bridge still needs current register binding, no forced observation chronology.
Reported caseSumaiyaKhurram33 falseattractivemininlove/cancer90k fromfriend/sourcejailed. Cancerpretextnotactualvictimdiagnosis ormedicalverification.
Reported casePang35k Filipinodatingsite andJan17programmegrievance. Appearance ispublicdisclosure, notpolicereport; showunheard, noincidentdatefrombroadcast.
Reported casePang78/Mika PinaLove1.5millionPHP35kSGD explicitdatingloss. Names/currencyconversionsnotnewcases; exactcopypersona deceptiondetails unknown.
Reported caseLinz44 allegedfivefalsepartners160000 andoneviolentcase; impendingcourttrial notjudgment, allwomen notassumedphysicallyabused. Current source-specific layer: All24 codes assessed. Current updated ORF body supersedes planned-trial coding for current presentation while frozen metadata and its original interpretation remain unchanged. Own current sentence agrees with Krone's final proceeding; no extra dated trial-to-sentence follow-up from observation times. Around160000 aggregate and fabricated bereavement/illness money requests remain attributed; those pretexts are not victim bereavement or illness. Physical-abuse allegation concerns one woman. Marriage proposal not genuine-partner harm, extortion, sexual assault, investment, forced work or identity paperwork. No imposed term actually served, refund, clinical/relational/material harm, police event, exact court date, operator nationality or programme viewing inferred.
Reported caseYahataKyoto44female2280万円 crypto investment Romance/withdrawal taxrequest. Crypto transferexplicit; request notproof taxpaid or repeatedrequests.
Reported caseKochi2024 investment/Romance6.5億 editorialaggregate; notRomance-only personalfinancialloss or detailedinvestmentbait.
CommentaryWestTottori50male399万円cash/SNSintimacy sidework; lastyearNovember17notcompletedyear, nospecificinvestmentfromsidework alone.
Reported caseSun/Xixi6yearfalsegirlfriend18万 allegesmaleidentity/policereport. Duration doesnotitselfestablish repeatedmoneyrequests, sexidentitynotmoraljudgment.
Reported casePangRM116000loss onlinecharmerconartist owncaption; noPinLove/photoMika detailsborrowed, currencyconversionnotnewcase.
Reported case