They stole my heart—and my money: How romance scams are costing Albertans millions
Canada crypto-investment300million/60percent is mixed-fraud aggregate, not romance-only loss. BBB Alberta/East Kootenay false-profile warning.
Prevention & supportData from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
Search the research collection
Explore the coverage
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.
OPP warn of romance and investment scams
OPP romanceandinvestmentwarning topiconly; adjacent labelsnotexplicit intimateinvestment mechanism.
Prevention & supportΗμέρα του Αγίου Βαλεντίνου: Προσοχή στις «ρομαντικές απάτες» - Η Ελληνική Αστυνομία προειδοποιεί για το Pig Butchering
Greek police Valentinewarning/video, no detailedinvestmentmechanism orprogrammewatched.
Prevention & supportAI chatbots are becoming romance scammers — and 1 in 3 people admit they could fall for one
McAfee survey title and byline only; no Maggie case facts borrowed from fuller copies. Same-agent contextual correction: General explanatory/research method claim is commentary, not an actual individual occurrence or an expressly delivered warning.
Research & trendsPódcast | Por qué tu también puedes ser víctima de una estafa amorosa, un crimen muy organizado
Podcast title asserts highly organized love fraud and AI capability. No audio watched, actual case or specific synthetic format. Same-agent contextual correction: General explanatory/research method claim is commentary, not an actual individual occurrence or an expressly delivered warning.
Prevention & supportRomance Scams in Montana: What You Need To Know
Montana warning; unspecified vulnerabilities do not establish a particular prior circumstance.
Prevention & supportSan Valentín y estafas amorosas: cómo evitar caer en ellas
SpanishNationalPolice preventivetips, no actualcase.
Prevention & supportRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported caseAI chatbots are becoming romance scammers — and 1 in 3 people admit they could fall for one
McAfee survey title and byline only; no Maggie case facts borrowed from fuller copies. Same-agent contextual correction: General explanatory/research method claim is commentary, not an actual individual occurrence or an expressly delivered warning.
Research & trendsAlerta de la Policía Nacional: así actúan los ciberestafadores del amor
SpanishNationalPolicepreventivealert.
Prevention & supportSt. Louis County woman uses social media to expose online romance scams
StLouisCountywomanusesocialmediatoexposes scams, reportedpracticalactionnotcriminalarrest.
Prevention & supportLas estafas románticas llegan al mundo de las criptomonedas
Bit2Me2.9m prevented suspectedfraud includesfalseintimacy. Mixedpotentialamount notpersonalactualRomanceloss; cryptoindustrytopicnotactualtransfer.
Research & trendsValentine's Day: Meta Warns of Romance Scams on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Metafakeprofilewarningforappusers. Platformpresencealone notdetailedcommunication episode/payment.
Prevention & supportScam warnings issued ahead of Valentine’s Day
Authority/consumer-agency warning about a surge.
Prevention & supportBetrüger lieben den Valentinstag
GermanValentinephishing/lovescamwarning; genericsophisticationnotexplicitAIorindividualloss.
Prevention & supportThink you can spot a Romance Scam? Canadians lost more than $58 million last year after being led into ‘web of lies’
Canada58m lastyear aggregate withOPP falseidentities/trust warning. Relative lastyearnotnormalized or repeatedcopies independentcorroboration.
Prevention & supportBetter Business Bureau: Be wary of romance scams on Valentine's Day
BBB money/personal-info advice; information disclosure to scammers is not helpseeking or identity-document offense byitself.
Prevention & supportRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported caseRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported caseMehrere Tausend Franken übergeben: Polizei verhaftet Liebesbetrüger am Hauptbahnhof Zürich
ZüricholderwomanhandedvaluablestoyoungNigerian/arrest. Sourcepropertypayment, nationalitynotlocation; no recoveryoraccount-usebasis.
Reported caseBeware Of Online Romance Scams | MyCentralOregon.com - Horizon Broadcasting Group, LLC
Oregonunexpectedtext/DMwarning, clippedbeforeinvestmentdetail.
Prevention & supportRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported caseAFP, Philippine police unite to out love scammers
AFP/Philippine joint prevention, not arrest/investigation from joined forces alone.
Prevention & supportRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported caseRomance scammer's devious script revealed after international police raid
Australian warning and revealedFilipino scammer script after international raid. Raid subtype/search distinct from arrest/conviction; nationality notactual Philippine operation on its own.
Reported case