Before you swipe right, know the red flags
As online dating continues to grow, so do risks of romance scams that exploit trust for financial gain. Fangzhou Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at Arlington, studies online fraud, particularly romance scams. She explains the tactics scammers use to gain victims’ trust for financial gain and shares practical advice on how to stay cautious online.
Do romance scams increase around Valentine’s Day?
Wang: There is no clear evidence showing that Valentine’s Day causes a spike in romance scam victimization. While many people do turn to dating apps during the holiday in search of connections—which may create more opportunities for scammers—no data shows an official increase tied to this time of year. Romance scams can happen at any time. The one period where we did see a substantial rise was during the COVID‑19 pandemic, when people were isolated and seeking emotional comfort online.
Which online platforms do scammers most commonly use?
Wang: The major platforms scammers use are dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge. They will also create profiles impersonating others on social media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. A lot of them will migrate to messaging apps with different stories for victims and try to start conversations that way. Sometimes, scammers will appear on different gaming platforms, since we know a lot of young people love to be on those. All of these are online places where scammers will show up and pretend to be friends with victims and try to start building a fake romantic relationship. Fraudsters are everywhere.
What storylines do scammers use to gain trust?
Wang: Scammers use narratives designed to lower suspicion and create emotional urgency. For example, many may claim they are lonely, recently divorced or deployed overseas and are looking for a partner to stay in their life forever. They will avoid making video calls by claiming poor internet connection or not show their face. With deepfake technology, however, some fraudsters will implant the face of the person they are impersonating and talk to victims with fake faces. After trust is established, they introduce fabricated crises and begin requesting money from victims.
What are the typical stages of an online romance scam?
Wang: The beginning stage is, of course, selecting the victims—this can be anyone who they think is an easy target. Then, there is the initial encounter that usually begins the conversation. This can either be initiated by the victim or the offender and be moved toward the trust-building stage. That’s when scammers will share all these romantic things with the victims in order to build trust. Soon after building trust, we get to the crisis stage, where scammers will make up all these different crisis scenarios to try to persuade the victim to send them money. It might start off with small amounts of money and escalate to larger amounts. The final stage is the victim realization stage when the victim has caught on that they are being scammed and the person they are talking to does not exist.
Has AI made these scams more convincing?
Wang: I have not particularly done research in this area, but there are a lot of other researchers who have found that AI has made scams more sophisticated. Scammers can generate artificial faces, create deepfake videos and use voice‑cloning technology, making interactions seem realistic to facilitate the scam.
What are the biggest red flags?
Wang: The first red flag is quick emotional dependency. If a person you’ve been conversing with starts to say “I love you” or “I want to marry you” within two to three days of chatting, you should be very careful. Traditional relationships usually take two to three months to develop stronger feelings of affection, so if someone expresses romantic emotion toward you very quickly that should be a sign to be careful. The second red flag is being asked to send money, especially if it’s someone you have never meet in person. Being asked to send a money transfer or to send gift cards is a big red flag, and you should be very cautious.
How can people protect themselves?
Wang: Typical preventions and protections individuals can do are based on the red flags. Don’t ever send money to strangers online; that’s one of the biggest ways to protect yourself. When meeting individuals online, if the person you’re talking to is sending you photos and videos you can always do a reverse-image search to see if the photos exist somewhere else online. Another measure I recommend is speaking to your close family and friends about the people you are talking to online. If for some reason you think someone is suspicious, don’t lock yourself in a bubble—talk to the people around you and see what their opinions are and if they think someone could potentially be a scammer. Avoid meeting strangers in places you’re unfamiliar with and be cautious of people who refuse to meet you in places you recommend. If the person is asking you to travel somewhere, don’t go. Instead, cut the connection.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.