Romance scams: warning signs and how to protect yourself

Updated October 17, 2026

Romance scams cost people more money than almost any other online fraud. The scammer builds an attractive persona, earns the victim's trust over weeks, and then, at just the right moment, a problem appears that only money can fix. Knowing the signs is the best protection.

Red flags

• Any request for money, gifts, gift cards, wire transfers or crypto, for any reason. This is the biggest red flag of all.
• Intense feelings very fast: “I've never felt this way”, talk of marriage within days.
• Rushing you off the platform to WhatsApp, Telegram or another app with no moderation.
• Never able to video chat: broken camera, bad connection, working on an oil rig, deployed overseas.
• A too-perfect story: doctor on a humanitarian mission, soldier abroad, engineer on a ship, successful investor.
• An “investment opportunity” they want to teach you, usually involving crypto.
• A package stuck in customs with a fee to release the “gift” they sent you.
• Model-like photos, or photos that show up on other profiles under different names.

How to protect yourself

• The golden rule: never send money to someone you only know online.
• Video chat early. Real people usually say yes.
• Run their photos through Google Lens or a reverse image search.
• Never share your SSN, passwords, text-message codes or bank details.
• Talk to a friend you trust. An outside view spots red flags faster.

What Hello Beijo does

Messages that mention money show a safety warning in the chat and are reviewed by our moderators. Anyone can Report or Block a profile, and the Verified badge shows who recorded a live video checked by our team. Still, the badge does not guarantee anyone's intentions: the golden rule always applies.

I already sent money. What now?

1. Stop sending, even if they promise to pay you back or start making threats.
2. Call your bank or card issuer right away and ask them to stop or reverse the payment.
3. Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI at ic3.gov. Local police can take a report too.
4. Report the profile on the site where you met and keep screenshots of the conversations.
5. Beware of anyone offering to “recover your money” for a fee: that is a second scam.

Falling for a scam is nothing to be ashamed of. Scammers are professionals, and talking about it helps protect others.

Also read: first meeting safety checklist.