A balanced approach to curbing online love scams
Malaysian experts balanced regulation of dating apps to curb love scams. Proposed policy discussion not enacted rules, all dating apps fraudulent or verified effect.
CommentaryData 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.
Matching coverage over time
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.
Read the graph as a table
| Observation month | Matching URLs | All included URLs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | 591 | 591 | 100.0% |
| Feb 2025 | 1,629 | 1,629 | 100.0% |
| Mar 2025 | 561 | 561 | 100.0% |
| Apr 2025 | 390 | 390 | 100.0% |
| May 2025 | 398 | 398 | 100.0% |
| Jun 2025 | 209 | 209 | 100.0% |
| Jul 2025 | 522 | 522 | 100.0% |
| Aug 2025 | 447 | 447 | 100.0% |
| Sep 2025 | 613 | 613 | 100.0% |
| Oct 2025 | 483 | 483 | 100.0% |
| Nov 2025 | 392 | 392 | 100.0% |
| Dec 2025 | 333 | 333 | 100.0% |
| Jan 2026 | 530 | 530 | 100.0% |
| Feb 2026 | 1,106 | 1,106 | 100.0% |
| Mar 2026 | 360 | 360 | 100.0% |
| Apr 2026 | 491 | 491 | 100.0% |
| May 2026 | 785 | 785 | 100.0% |
| Jun 2026 | 842 | 842 | 100.0% |
| Jul 2026 | 1,143 | 1,143 | 100.0% |
| Aug 2026 | 640 | 640 | 100.0% |
| Sep 2026 | 638 | 638 | 100.0% |
| Oct 2026 | 30 | 30 | 100.0% |
12,949 matching media records
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
Romance-Scam: Selina schlägt Alarm: «Mein Vater hat alles verloren»
Selina account of father paying phone conversations with unseen claimed girlfriend; relatives believe fraud. Disputed source attribution retained, not independently verified guilt, payment amount or clinical diagnosis.
Reported caseMedienmitteilung der Zentralschweizer Polizeikorps: Romance Scam – Betrug mit der Liebe im Internet
Explicit love-scamming/romance-fraud safety guide or police warning. General education and attributed risk claims not verified prevention effectiveness, all targets clinical harm or source population incidence.
Prevention & supportTruffa sentimentale online: versa quasi 30mila euro a una donna che non esiste
Romagna58 man reports almost30000EUR online relationship with nonexistent woman; source says transfers/false promises. No verified operator country, recovery or clinical diagnosis, same copies not added losses.
Reported case中高年を狙うロマンス詐欺にも罰則強化を｜溝口敦の「斬り込み時評」
Japan host-club romantic exploitation/coerced prostitution law proposal and older-romance targeting commentary. Mixed model; proposed increased corporate fines not imposed penalties/victim losses, not every romance case forced sex work. Own reread source supports Co:d with its stated attribution/scope. Source explicitly coerced prostitution in host-club romantic exploitation; general mixed-policy context, not every older romance target a coerced worker or completed measured case.
CommentaryMais qui tente de nous vendre ces « fiancé(e)s IA » sur les réseaux sociaux ?
French source explicitly discusses online sentimental fraud and commercial AI fiance offers. Source commentary retained; honest disclosed AI companionship not automatically criminal impersonation, offers not verified victim payments or measured increase.
Commentary【速報】日本人かたる女性「私は損失を補填します」 48歳男性が500万円ロマンス詐欺被害
Otsu48 male5000000 cash SNS romance investment fraud, claimed Japanese woman persona not verified operation location. No recovered money or exact year from relative date.
Reported caseCryptocurrency, romance scams top BBB’s riskiest scams list
BBB2024 risk rankings romance/friendship third with6099median, investment first. Reporting/risk methodology not population incidence or romance most costly everywhere; source scopes/amount kept apart. Bind F:d to actual own evidence field, not neighbouring context or generic title/description.
Research & trendsടിൻഡറിലും ബംബിളിലും ചാറ്റിങ്; പിന്നെ ബാറിലേക്ക് വിളിക്കും; ഡേറ്റിംഗ് ആപ്പിലൂടെ വന് തട്ടിപ്പ്
Malayalam Delhi fake dating-app profiles/bar fraud and arrests, financial social/dating lure. No inferred rape/sex assault/clinical harm or sum from app name; court guilt unknown. Bind E:d to actual own evidence field, not neighbouring context or generic title/description.
Reported caseI thought I’d hit the Tinder jackpot — then my online lover scammed me out of $40,000
Katie Powell Portland Tinder financial deception;40000 headline versus40,00 description typo retained as source discrepancy. Single mother not proof of targeted age/occupation/employer theft; no clinical diagnosis.
Reported caseMeta Warns Everyone How Not to Fall for Romance Scams
Explicit love-scamming/romance-fraud safety guide or police warning. General education and attributed risk claims not verified prevention effectiveness, all targets clinical harm or source population incidence.
Prevention & supportReport: Bogus investment schemes and romance scams take Iowans for millions - Radio Iowa
Iowa FTC2024 broader fraud totals50m/52m/14000 reports and investment/romance headlines. Mixed statistics not romance-only losses, unique victims or current population incidence; no normalization of source scopes.
Research & trendsSen. Blackburn introduces bipartisan bill to protect senior citizens from dating app scams
Blackburn bipartisan bill introduction to notify dating-app users of potential scammers. Proposed alert requirement not enacted/passed law or verified outcomes, senior protection not proof all offenders target elders. Bind T:t to actual own evidence field, not neighbouring context or generic title/description.
Prevention & supportZentralschweizer Polizeikonkordat warnt vor Liebesbetrug im Internet
Central Swiss police/SKP launch love-scamming warning campaign. Launch not proved crime reduction or funds returned; audience not automatically deliberate offender targeting.
Prevention & supportCuando la víctima de una estafa romántica es tu padre: "Le envió 100.000 euros pensando que era una mujer real. Fue duro ver su vacío"
Child reports father paying100000 to nonexistent female relationship. Source feeling empty attributed to speaker, not independently diagnosed parental harm or proof of suicide/death. Bind Rf:t to actual own evidence field, not neighbouring context or generic title/description.
Reported caseネットショッピングの副業を勧められ…２２５万円の詐欺被害 秋田市の５０代男性
Akita50 male2250000 cash SNSRomance sidejob/onlineshopping scheme. Matchingapp only ownexpandedversion; job scheme Romance sourceclassification retained, not all taskfraudsromantic. Own contextual reread supports T:d with source attribution and stated role/scope.
Reported case'I never got the money back': Central Ohio man loses $42,000 in crypto-romance scam
CentralOhio Guthman42000 headline/>40000 body crypto-romance loss plus bank/socialsecurity disclosures. No confirmed secondary identity-theft offense/clinical harm from disclosures; actualnotgotmoneyback excludes actualreturn. Crypto-romance heading does not demonstrate crypto transfer. Bank/SSN information loss is not independently established subsequent identity fraud; quoted no money back is source-specific, not a returned-assets finding.
Reported case‘Romance scam’: 36 men take out Rs 1.2 crore mortgages to buy apartments for ‘lover’, discover they were dating the same woman
Chinese36 men allegedly induced to mortgage/buy homes for same girlfriendLiuJia/property agent. Source claims not verified legal judgment, purchased property not necessarily forfeited/homeless. Currency conversions/headerloan values not additive or all36 equal individual losses; keep source differences. Own contextual reread supports Rf:t with source attribution and stated role/scope.
Reported case'Romance scammer stole €25k of my life savings - the betrayal tore me to bits'
JuliaSimpson68 pseudonym/DanielPeeters romance22kGBP versus25kEUR sourceconversion andlife-savings. Claimed58widowerCambridge not verified persona/location; Maylastyear no inferredyear, betrayed/tornlife not psychiatric diagnosis. Own request/marriage passage demonstrates false relationship/trust inducement, not additional independently established impersonated identity. Own contextual reread supports Rf:d with source attribution and stated role/scope. Own contextual reread supports Rt:d with source attribution and stated role/scope. Julia pseudonym and22kGBP/25kEUR source conversions not summed; torn to bits does not supply an independent clinical diagnosis.
Reported caseMás de 400.000 cuentas relacionadas con estafas románticas se detectan y eliminan cada año en Meta
Meta reports400000 romance-related accounts detected/removed eachyear, fake celebrity love stories. Accounttakedowns not400000uniquecriminals/victims, corporateclaim not independent efficacy measurement; unspecified year remainsunknown.
Research & trendsWoman's life ‘torn to bits’ by romance scammer who stole £22k of life savings
JuliaSimpson68 pseudonym/DanielPeeters romance22kGBP versus25kEUR sourceconversion andlife-savings. Claimed58widowerCambridge not verified persona/location; Maylastyear no inferredyear, betrayed/tornlife not psychiatric diagnosis. Own contextual reread supports T:d with source attribution and stated role/scope. Own fraudster alias supports impersonation; Julia pseudonym retained, claimed Cambridge/age/widower identity not verified location/date. Relative May lastyear not assigned year.
Reported caseBBB report: Financial grooming scams lead to high-dollar losses
BBB2024 risk report including investment/crypto and Romance/friendship categories. No clippedNo… filled with absent rank/amount; investment risk not all Romance losses or population prevalence. Own contextual reread supports F:t with source attribution and stated role/scope. BBB mixed-fraud report headline losses not romance-only denominator or incidence.
Research & trendsネットショッピングの副業を勧められ…２２５万円の詐欺被害 秋田市の５０代男性｜秋田魁新報電子版
Akita50 male2250000 cash SNSRomance sidejob/onlineshopping scheme. Matchingapp only ownexpandedversion; job scheme Romance sourceclassification retained, not all taskfraudsromantic.
Reported caseFilm deal on the cards for Stratford romance fraud author
BeckyHolmes nonfictionromancefraudbook KeanuReevesIsNotInLoveWithYou optioned forfilm. Optionnot completedreleasedmovie/actualnewvictim or originalstudy, no recordingwatched.
Related mentionALERT: Police Warn Michigan Residents of Violent Dating App Scam
Michigan man beaten androbbed afterdating-appambush, policewarn. Financialintimate bait/sourceattributedphysicalattack and completedrobbery, unknownpaidamount/year/operatoridentity; warning not measuredriskreduction. Dating ambush source-attributed robbery/physical assault; no independently verified guilt/date from Monday/observation.
Reported case