Romance scam

Romance scams exploit loneliness and the desire for connection. A fraudster creates an appealing online profile — often posing as a successful professional, military officer, or doctor working abroad — and invests weeks or months in building genuine emotional attachment before introducing a financial need.

Common pretexts for money requests include a medical emergency, a business deal gone wrong, being stranded abroad, or customs fees on a valuable package. Payments are typically requested by bank transfer, wire, gift cards, or cryptocurrency because these are hard to reverse.

Victims often feel too embarrassed to report the fraud, and may continue sending money even after friends or family raise concerns. Romance scams cause significant psychological as well as financial harm. Pig-butchering is a sophisticated variant that combines romance grooming with fake investment platforms.