Can someone I met online legitimately ask for money to buy a flight to come and visit me?
People you genuinely know might ask for help with travel costs, but someone you have only met online who asks for money before you have ever met in person is almost certainly running a romance scam.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Romance scams are one of the most emotionally and financially devastating fraud types. The scammer invests weeks or months building an online relationship — daily messages, apparent intimacy, shared plans for the future — before introducing a financial need. The travel request is often the first test: a relatively plausible amount to fund a flight to visit you.
The pattern that follows involves the travel being cancelled due to an emergency at the last minute, a new financial crisis, or a complication requiring more money. Each crisis is designed to extract further payments while maintaining the emotional bond. Victims may send tens or hundreds of thousands in total before realising the other person does not exist.
Online-only relationships where the other person has never accepted a live video call with you present, has photos that reverse-image search reveals belong to a different identity, or provides inconsistent personal details warrant extreme caution regardless of how genuine the emotional connection feels.
Before sending money to anyone you have not met in person, video-call them live, verify their identity independently, and speak to a trusted friend or family member about the relationship.
Common red flags
- You have never met in person or on a live unscripted video call
- Person is consistently unable to meet despite claiming to want to visit
- Requests money before a first in-person meeting
- Travel plans are always cancelled due to an emergency
- Profile photos appear in a reverse-image search under a different name
- Relationship escalated very quickly to expressions of love and future plans
What to do now
- Do not send money to someone you have not met in person
- Request a live, unscripted video call before any financial discussion
- Reverse-image search their profile photos
- Discuss the relationship with a trusted friend or family member
- Report the profile to the platform where you met
- Report to your national fraud authority if money has already been sent
Frequently asked questions
What if we have been talking for months — surely that means it is real?
Romance scammers invest significant time precisely because the financial payoff justifies it. Duration of contact is not a reliable indicator of legitimacy. The diagnostic tests are: have you met in person, and have you video-called live where you could ask them to do something spontaneous?
Can I recover money sent in a romance scam?
Recovery is difficult but report immediately to your bank and fraud authority. Wire transfers and gift card payments are hardest to recover. Some victims have recovered funds through bank intervention when reported quickly.