How CBS News tracked down romance scammers preying on Americans
Own secondarymetadata romance-and-rob US targets. No gold-mine investment/route/clinicalharm ororiginalpublisherbody expansion.
Reported caseData from The GDELT Project · Reviewed and interpreted by RSRC
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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 2024 | 443 | 443 | 100.0% |
| Feb 2024 | 685 | 685 | 100.0% |
| Mar 2024 | 391 | 391 | 100.0% |
| Apr 2024 | 487 | 487 | 100.0% |
| May 2024 | 519 | 519 | 100.0% |
| Jun 2024 | 303 | 303 | 100.0% |
| Jul 2024 | 545 | 545 | 100.0% |
| Aug 2024 | 352 | 352 | 100.0% |
| Sep 2024 | 387 | 387 | 100.0% |
| Oct 2024 | 493 | 493 | 100.0% |
| Nov 2024 | 496 | 496 | 100.0% |
| Dec 2024 | 565 | 565 | 100.0% |
5,596 matching media records
Each record represents a source web page, not a verified incident. Different URLs can describe the same event. About these records.
Inside look at Ghana’s “hustle kingdom” and romance scam operations
Own derivative metadata online-love deception/trained youngmen. No paidamount/verifiednationality/forcedwork/AI inferred, video not viewed.
Reported case醫生愛人哭沒錢！她衝銀行轉帳 警驚：她9天匯4男友134萬 | ETtoday社會新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲
Own Brain/Dutchdoctor134wan/fourblocked80Kcurrentrequests. Notpaidloss/refund/clinicalcondition/realforeignoperation, no fifthhouseattempt here.
Reported caseUne fraude amoureuse aux allures d’Hollywood
Own YvonGilbertretiree~700K/claimedDominicanwoman/allegednetwork. No suicide/clinicalharm/actualDominicanoperation orsameQuebeccaseassumed.
Reported case大分市の60代男性が20万円詐欺被害 SNS型ロマンス詐欺か - 大分のニュースなら 大分合同新聞プレミアムオンライン Gate
Own distinctOita60male20man versus50male12man headlines. Publisherboilerplate notbody, no crossprofileamount/persona/route/year borrowed.
Reported casePolice Apprehend Three Suspects Involved In Sextortion - Ghanamma.com
Own alleged sextortion/Romance investigation and arrests. Three versus four/siblings/headline conflicts retained, not independent cases/conviction/sexual injury/paidamount/coercion. Croatian nationality is not target residence or operation country. Explicit current scope qualification: own NPF report describes one alleged sextortion/Romance case, including a Croatian national where stated. Three/four suspects and three named siblings do not establish multiple cases. Set coding application scope single_case; preserve suspect-count conflicts, allegations, arrest stages, all24 states and every source fact.
Reported caseUne fraude amoureuse aux allures d’Hollywood
Own YvonGilbertretiree~700K/claimedDominicanwoman/allegednetwork. No suicide/clinicalharm/actualDominicanoperation orsameQuebeccaseassumed.
Reported case60代男性が「ロマンス詐欺」で7000万円だまし取られる 架空の金取引か
Own Musashino60male70mCASH andfictitiousgoldtitle/actualinvestigation. Noincidentyear/crypto/clinicalharm orfullerpersona.
Reported caseNigeria Police arrest four over alleged sextortion, romance scam
Own alleged sextortion/Romance investigation and arrests. Three versus four/siblings/headline conflicts retained, not independent cases/conviction/sexual injury/paidamount/coercion. Croatian nationality is not target residence or operation country. Explicit current scope qualification: own NPF report describes one alleged sextortion/Romance case, including a Croatian national where stated. Three/four suspects and three named siblings do not establish multiple cases. Set coding application scope single_case; preserve suspect-count conflicts, allegations, arrest stages, all24 states and every source fact.
Reported caseNigerian Police Arrest Three Suspects For Alleged Romance Scam With Croatian National
Own Abodunrin allegedsextortion/Romance arrests afterportalreport/intelligence. Three named versus othercounts remain sourcebound; report submitter unknown, no targetresidence fromCroatian nationality/conviction/injury. Explicit current scope qualification: own NPF report describes one alleged sextortion/Romance case, including a Croatian national where stated. Three/four suspects and three named siblings do not establish multiple cases. Set coding application scope single_case; preserve suspect-count conflicts, allegations, arrest stages, all24 states and every source fact.
Reported caseScammers hire models to fool Americans
Own derivative metadata recruitment of models/escorts to deceive US targets. Recruitment does not establish knowing guilt/forced work/deepfake/sexual injury or paidloss. No publisher-body expansion.
Reported caseRomance scams listed among top 20 scams reported in the US
Own FBIattributedColorado~18000/10m2023 sourceclaim. Retainownperiod/countlossdenominator/possibleallocationlimits, not independent incidence.
Research & trends未婚夫回頭！婦押房子錢匯情郎「買法拉利」 當鋪機警阻詐 | ETtoday社會新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲
Own falseexfiance/210wan intendedhomecollateralloan blocked. Notactualhousingloss/paidloan/refund, eightyearsago noteventyear.
Reported casePolice Arrest 3 Siblings Over Alleged Sextortion
Own alleged sextortion/Romance investigation and arrests. Three versus four/siblings/headline conflicts retained, not independent cases/conviction/sexual injury/paidamount/coercion. Croatian nationality is not target residence or operation country. Explicit current scope qualification: own NPF report describes one alleged sextortion/Romance case, including a Croatian national where stated. Three/four suspects and three named siblings do not establish multiple cases. Set coding application scope single_case; preserve suspect-count conflicts, allegations, arrest stages, all24 states and every source fact.
Reported case神奈川「知能犯」２０％増加 ＳＮＳで勧誘する投資詐欺や「ロマンス詐欺」要因
Own Kanagawa21491allpenalcrime/+1.9percent andintellectualcrime20percent source scopes. MixedSNS investment/Romance factors not allRomance incidence/loss/clinicalcause, firsthalfyear not yearfrompublication.
Research & trends網婆甜喊「我是你妻子」 暈船男淪詐團人頭戶結局獲無罪 | ETtoday社會新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲
Own Ade onlinewife/accountloan tobuyBitcoin/person-account allegations andactualsubjectacquittal. Jv alias explicitly overriddenacquittal; no defendantintent/guilt orallfrauddenial, no cryptoassettransfer/ownpaidloss.
Reported caseThe love scammer told his victim he wanted to import African gold
Own MaxwellRusey falsearmyofficer/Mali/goldimport. ActualNuneatonconman location nottargetresidence, noamount/sentence/investmentreturn/cryptofromanotherURL.
Reported caseBrad Pitt's publicist shares 'important reminder' amid online romance scam
Own publicistreminder/policeinvestigation. No5arrests/amount/method copied, publicistnotpoliceauthority oractorfraudster.
Prevention & supportScammers hire models to fool Americans
Own derivative metadata recruitment of models/escorts to deceive US targets. Recruitment does not establish knowing guilt/forced work/deepfake/sexual injury or paidloss. No publisher-body expansion.
Reported case“ロマンス詐欺”の手口 60代男性が約7000万円の被害 | NHK
Own Musashino60male70m romance-feelings investment. No gold/cash/paymentroute/dateyear/clinicalharm from stronger copy.
Reported caseＳＮＳ型詐欺多発で注意呼びかけ 和歌山県警：紀伊民報AGARA｜和歌山県のニュースサイト
Own Wakayama mixedSNS investment/Romance deception warning. No suppliednumericJanAug total orallRomance allocation/individual eventyear; adjacentinvestmentdefinition not particularRomance investmentpretext.
Prevention & supportロマンス詐欺で7千万円被害 60代男性を「金投資」に誘導 東京：朝日新聞デジタル
Own Musashino60male70m gold-investment title. No cash/crypto/preciseJune year ortarget psychology borrowed.
Reported casePolice arrest three over romance scam
Own alleged sextortion/Romance investigation and arrests. Three versus four/siblings/headline conflicts retained, not independent cases/conviction/sexual injury/paidamount/coercion. Croatian nationality is not target residence or operation country. Explicit current scope qualification: own NPF report describes one alleged sextortion/Romance case, including a Croatian national where stated. Three/four suspects and three named siblings do not establish multiple cases. Set coding application scope single_case; preserve suspect-count conflicts, allegations, arrest stages, all24 states and every source fact.
Reported casePolisi Surabaya Bongkar Sindikat Penipuan Online Internasional: TikTok, WeChat, Love Scamming - Harian Lingga
Own Surabaya international syndicate/TikTokWeChat/love-scamming arrests. No crypto transfer/AI/coercedwork/otheroperation amounts borrowed.
Reported caseLexington men plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud - ABC Columbia
Own twoLexingtonmen guiltyplea conspiracy wire/mailfraud BEC+Romance mixedscheme. No sentence/loss/employertheft allocation orunique casecount. Source-specific qualification: Wire/mailfraud conspiracy within the reported mixed scheme does not establish a separate scam-linked other act, such as document fraud, employer theft or drug transport. Withdraw the redundant other-offending code; preserve actual guilty plea.
Reported case