Romance scam

Scammers use romance or friendship grooming over a long period of time to gain trust before attempting to convince the target to invest in the stock market, cryptocurrencies, or foreign currency.

Scammers demonstrate their lavish lifestyles and discuss their bank or crypto balances throughout months of friendship in the hope of being asked for advice or tips on how they too can generate such wealth. The scammer will guide them to invest in their scam, which may appear to look legitimate. After investing, the victim may receive fake balances in apps, websites, or statements showing their money's growth, which often encourages the victim to invest more money.

• Are you being lovebombed? Scammers tend to move very quickly in terms of trying to establish an emotional connection. Within a short period, they may say they love you and feel a deep connection to you. You should look out for matches that are overly flattering and devoted early on in your communication when you haven't even met.

• Is their profile vague and limited? On dating apps, scammers and bots will have very limited profile information. Scammers also tend only to have one or two photos.

• Are they unable to meet in person, or are they always unavailable for a video call? 
  Since the scammer is not the person they claim to be, they don't want to meet in person. A catfish will generally not appear in a video chat since they use fake profile images.

• Do they ask for money? A genuine person looking for a relationship does not ask for money. Inevitably, a catfish or scammer will request money from you, as this is their ultimate goal. They may invent a variety of scenarios from family emergencies, health issues or travel problems.

• Have they asked to chat on a different platform? Scammers want to quickly take the conversation off the dating website or app and prefer to continue their deception on instant messaging platforms. This not only helps them get more of your information, but it also helps them avoid the safety measures dating apps and sites have in place.

• Are they keen on your personal information? Asking for information about yourself is normal when wanting to get to know someone, especially romantically. But be wary when someone asks questions about things they might not need to know.

• Is it a sad story or a cry for help? Scammers will try to use your good nature against you. They will share stories of heartbreak and tragedy with you and explain why they need your help and your money.

• Do they live overseas? Many scammers claim to work in another country or be on military deployment to give them an excuse for not being able to meet up. Many scammers use photos of military personnel and soldiers on their profiles. It's often a big reason for them not to be able to talk often due to time differences.