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Scams aimed at people in online relationships — romance scams, sextortion, and crypto-romance grooming. (36 scam types.)
AI chatbots that simulate a romantic partner at scale to groom victims toward payments.
Scammers trick you into authorising a bank transfer or mobile payment to an account they control, using social engineering, fake emergencies, or impersonation.
Scammers running impersonation, tech-support, or romance cons steer victims to feed cash into a Bitcoin ATM and scan a QR code — sending an instant, irreversible payment straight to the fraudster's wallet.
Scammers pose as companies offering to pay drivers to wrap their cars with brand advertising, then send an overpayment cheque and ask the victim to forward money to a 'vehicle wrap installer.'
False identities built using stolen photos and invented lives to manipulate emotions and extract money or information.
Fraud built around cryptocurrency — fake exchanges, wallet-draining links, giveaway scams and bogus trading platforms.
Dating apps often advertise a discounted introductory price for premium features while the subscription actually renews at a much higher rate, with cancellation only possible through a separate app-store menu that sign-up never mentions.
Romantic interest used to draw you into a fake crypto trading platform (a form of pig butchering).
Sudden 'crisis' stories — accidents, arrests, stranded abroad — engineered to rush money out of you.
Plans to finally meet that always require you to fund tickets, visas or fees — then collapse.
Bogus online vehicle auction sites, including fake government or police 'seized vehicle' auctions, charge buyers a registration or winning-bid deposit for vehicles that don't exist.
Online vehicle sellers who are actually scammers introduce a fake transport or shipping company to extract additional fees after an initial deposit has been paid for a vehicle that does not exist.
Fraudulent services targeting people who have already lost money in crypto scams, promising to trace and recover funds in exchange for upfront fees.
Invented illnesses or accidents used to extract money for treatment that doesn't exist.
Invented romantic identities built to win trust and then request money.
Platforms promising unrealistically high staking or yield returns that are either exit scams or Ponzi schemes.
Fraudsters pose as wealthy older women offering a generous allowance to younger people, then request fees, gift cards, or personal information before the promised money is ever sent.
Slick websites and apps that simulate trading and show fake profits to keep you depositing.
Scammers delivering any type of blackmail or extortion threat specifically demand payment in gift cards, directing victims to buy cards and read the codes over the phone or via message.
Requests for gift card codes as 'help' or 'gifts' — an untraceable way to drain money from victims.
A "buyer" or new contact asks to verify you are real by having a code texted to your phone, then read back to them. That code links a Google Voice number to yours, quietly handing the scammer control of your number.
Someone who holds real intimate images of a victim — obtained through a relationship, deception, or hacking — threatens to share them publicly unless demands for money, more images, or continued contact are met.
Fake or manipulated investment opportunities that promise high, guaranteed returns and pressure you to deposit quickly.
Relationships kept permanently remote, with endless reasons a meeting or video call can't happen.
Fraudsters posing as deployed military personnel claim they need financial help to secure leave to visit the victim, then disappear after payment is made.
Fake "payment processor" jobs, or romance and social contacts, recruit you to receive money into your own bank account and forward it on for a cut — making you the traceable link in a money-laundering chain.
After building a long-distance romantic relationship, scammers claim they need money for visa or immigration fees to come and marry the victim — then disappear once paid.
Fake or exploitative matchmaking services that charge high upfront fees for curated introductions that never materialise or are performed by paid actors.
Threats to expose a relationship, real or fabricated, unless payment is made to keep it secret.
Scammers build romantic or friendly relationships online before introducing a supposedly exclusive crypto mining pool that generates consistent returns until the victim tries to withdraw.
Follow-up scams targeting romance fraud victims with promises to recover lost money for a fee.
Intimate images obtained or faked, then used to threaten and extort the victim.
A scammer claims to have obtained a victim's private subscription or purchase history on an embarrassing or sensitive platform and threatens to expose the list to contacts, family, or employers unless paid.
Fake offers of a generous weekly allowance that require an upfront payment before anything is ever received.
A supposed benefactor promises a regular allowance for companionship but requires an upfront 'verification' or 'processing' payment first, or sends a fraudulent check that bounces after money has already been sent back.
Online partners who request money for visa fees, flight costs, or migration paperwork as part of a plan to supposedly come and live with you.