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 | 264 | 591 | 44.7% |
| Feb 2025 | 554 | 1,629 | 34.0% |
| Mar 2025 | 141 | 561 | 25.1% |
| Apr 2025 | 116 | 390 | 29.7% |
| May 2025 | 193 | 398 | 48.5% |
| Jun 2025 | 53 | 209 | 25.4% |
| Jul 2025 | 151 | 522 | 28.9% |
| Aug 2025 | 129 | 447 | 28.9% |
| Sep 2025 | 164 | 613 | 26.8% |
| Oct 2025 | 201 | 483 | 41.6% |
| Nov 2025 | 164 | 392 | 41.8% |
| Dec 2025 | 124 | 333 | 37.2% |
| Jan 2026 | 67 | 530 | 12.6% |
| Feb 2026 | 224 | 1,106 | 20.3% |
| Mar 2026 | 90 | 360 | 25.0% |
| Apr 2026 | 145 | 491 | 29.5% |
| May 2026 | 200 | 785 | 25.5% |
| Jun 2026 | 121 | 842 | 14.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 191 | 1,143 | 16.7% |
| Aug 2026 | 224 | 640 | 35.0% |
| Sep 2026 | 139 | 638 | 21.8% |
| Oct 2026 | 6 | 30 | 20.0% |
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
Incheon customs describes increasing inquiries about customs-seizure/fee demands after SNS relationship-building, explicitly tied to romance scams. Code demanded payment as requested rather than completed loss; rising inquiries are not a verified number of distinct scams.
Research & trendsAomori police report a man in his forties’s 3.6-million-yen investment-fraud loss following contact with a woman on a matching app, then Line and crypto transfers. This is a dating-linked investment scam; no false identity or prolonged affection invented. Displayed profits are not real returns. The described roughly 4.5-million apparent balance is not a realized return; initial 44,445-yen transfer is one transaction, not the total loss.
Reported caseFukushima police report a man in his thirties losing approximately 2.55 million yen crypto through SNS, with suspected romance fraud in the title. Preserve the suspected classification and sparse source detail.
Reported casePolice describe a Fuji company director in her forties developing affection for an SNS contact who advised investments. The title reports about 17 million yen crypto loss and suspected romance fraud. Preserve suspected classification.
Reported caseThe Italian title reports 26,000 euros sent to a fictitious chat girlfriend created using AI. Its description separately recalls a British woman’s Brad-Pitt impersonation case. Do not combine those victims or count a completed AI mechanism for both.
Reported caseHachinohe police explicitly report SNS romance fraud: man in his sixties, matching-app contact, Line communication and crypto-investment transfers worth approximately 1.055 million yen. Trading-app profits are apparent, not established returns.
Reported caseMatsumoto and Iida police describe three victims under a combined SNS-investment/romance category with cash/crypto losses. Keep separate amounts/people and mixed classification; no individual romance mechanism asserted beyond the broad category.
Reported caseOta police describe two distinct targets under the broad SNS investment/romance category: a 47-year-old female music teacher and a 29-year-old male employee. Retain broad classification and separate victims; the amounts are not independent romance-only aggregate measures.
Reported caseWIRED’s Haotian investigation links live-video face swapping to romance scams and Telegram sales, followed by a channel disappearing after inquiry. Capability/profits are attributed; disappearance alone does not establish law-enforcement takedown or victim losses.
Research & trendsJapan’s National Police Agency published an X image warning about SNS romance fraud. Reactions in the title do not measure awareness or prevention effectiveness.
Prevention & supportThe title identifies relationship-plus-investment fraud and the description reports an Otsu man’s 9.4-million-yen loss after a purported Taiwanese woman introduced crypto trading via Line. Her nationality is a claimed persona; no Taiwan operation location inferred. Month/day dates lack an explicit year and are not completed from observation time.
Reported caseOtsu police report a 38-year-old man’s approximately 9.4-million-yen crypto loss to a purported Taiwanese woman; explicitly SNS romance fraud. Claimed nationality does not establish the operation’s location. Candidate recurrence with Chinese Otsu reports remains subject to source comparison.
Reported caseFukuoka police report a 60-year-old man’s approximately 14-million-yen SNS romance-fraud loss. Description includes outlet boilerplate; no additional outcome inferred.
Reported caseChinese coverage identifies the Otsu 38-year-old’s claimed Taiwanese-woman romance/crypto deception and 1.88-million-Taiwan-dollar equivalent loss. Candidate cross-language association requires contextual comparison; Taiwan is the persona claim, not the operation location.
Reported caseFukui police report a man in his sixties losing 1 million yen cash and crypto valued at 16.74 million following online false investment offers. Romance fraud is the reported investigative classification; preserve the qualification rather than assert verified case facts. The richer variant mentions an analyst persona and friendship invitation.
Reported caseToyama police report a man in his forties losing 8,504,240 yen in SNS romance fraud following a Korean-woman investment contact. The persona’s stated nationality is not a verified location or nationality.
Reported caseFederal agents’ nearly $8.5-million crypto seizure is linked to investment scams whose methods often include posing as romantic interests. Preserve mixed scope; seized assets are not proven victim refunds and the amount is not romance-only losses. The romantic-interest deception describes a general recurring method; no sustained fabricated partnership in every seized-assets case is inferred.
Reported caseHamada police report a man in his twenties losing approximately 2.1 million yen in crypto through SNS relationship-based deception. Crypto amount is a source claim, not an independently verified loss.
Reported caseFukui police report a man in his sixties losing 1 million yen cash and crypto valued at 16.74 million following online false investment offers. Romance fraud is the reported investigative classification; preserve the qualification rather than assert verified case facts. The richer variant mentions an analyst persona and friendship invitation.
Reported caseAn Ishikari man in his fifties reportedly lost about 14.1 million in cash/electronic money and filed with Sapporo Kita police. The description identifies romance-fraud affection manipulation, but gives no complete incident date.
Reported caseAzumino’s man in his fifties reportedly lost JPY5 million following social investment advertising and supposed instructors. The broad investment/romance category is retained without inventing a romantic persona or grouping him with the 70-year-old account.
Related mentionOdate police report a woman in her forties losing crypto worth 16,105,000 yen in SNS romance fraud involving a purported Korean male persona. Claimed persona nationality is not operation location.
Reported caseThe source alleges nearly $300,000 taken from a girlfriend met on Bumble in an elaborate romance scheme. The sparse retained paragraph does not itself name the accused or establish the alleged home-purchase details; keep a candidate recurrence for contextual review.
Reported caseKaminokawa reporting describes a 49-year-old man’s JPY2.58 million loss, police report and investigation classified as SNS romance fraud. A purported foreign woman’s identity is not a verified operation country.
Reported caseOdate police report a woman in her forties losing crypto worth JPY16,105,000 in SNS romance fraud; the headline mentions a purported Korean male persona. Claimed identity does not locate the operation in Korea.
Reported case