Is it safe to wire money to someone I met online?
Sending money to someone you have only met online — regardless of how close you feel — is extremely high risk. This is the defining action in romance scams and pig-butchering investment fraud.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
The request for money is the moment a relationship-based fraud reaches its purpose. Whether the connection began on a dating app, social media, a gaming platform, or a random messaging app, the trajectory of the scam is the same: an extended period of relationship-building is followed by a financial request framed as urgent, emotional, or an investment opportunity.
The characteristics of these requests are consistent: the person cannot receive money through normal channels (international complications, account frozen, family emergency), the amount requested starts small and escalates, and declining causes significant emotional pressure or guilt. The person you have built a relationship with may feel completely real — the time and effort invested makes it psychologically very difficult to accept that the relationship itself was the fraud.
Wire transfers are preferred by scammers because, like bank transfers, they are difficult to reverse once completed, especially to international accounts. Once the money leaves your account, the chances of recovery are low.
Before sending any money to someone you have not met in person, conduct a reverse image search of their photos, video call them (not just voice) in a natural, unscripted setting, ask specific questions about their location and life that can be independently verified, and tell a trusted friend or family member about the relationship and the request. Outside perspectives are extremely valuable here — romance fraud victims often describe how isolated they became from their support networks during the fraud.
Common red flags
- You have never met in person despite an extended online relationship
- They claim to be overseas due to military service, engineering contracts, or medical work
- All attempts at video call are deflected or result in technical problems
- They ask for money due to an emergency: hospital bill, legal fee, flight ticket, customs release
- They mention investment opportunities, particularly in crypto, that they want to share with you
- Communication has been unusually intense and emotionally accelerated from the start
What to do now
- Do not send money — once wired it is almost certainly gone
- Conduct a reverse image search of their photos to check whether images are taken from elsewhere online
- Video call them — live, unscripted, asking them to do specific things on screen — to test authenticity
- Tell a trusted person about the relationship and the request and listen to their perspective
- If you have already sent money, report to your bank, your national fraud authority, and the platform where you met
- Seek support — being defrauded in a relationship context is emotionally very damaging and support resources exist
Frequently asked questions
We have been talking for six months — isn't that too long for a scam?
Investment-linked romance scams, sometimes called pig-butchering scams, operate over months or years. The extended relationship is the mechanism, not evidence of authenticity. Time invested does not equal genuine connection.
They sent me a photo of their ID and passport — doesn't that prove who they are?
Identity documents can be fabricated or belong to real people who have had their images stolen. Fraudsters sometimes use genuine IDs obtained through other scams. Document photos are not reliable proof of identity.