What Is Romance Fraud?

Romance fraud occurs when someone creates a fake identity to form an emotional relationship with another person, usually online. The relationship is built on trust over weeks or even months before the scammer asks for money, gifts, cryptocurrency, bank transfers or personal information.

Some scammers never ask for money immediately. Instead, they slowly gain your trust before inventing emergencies, business problems or travel issues that require financial help.

These scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with fraudsters often using stolen photographs, fake passports, fabricated careers and convincing social media profiles.

Common Warning Signs

Although every case is different, many romance scams follow similar patterns.

You may be dealing with a scammer if they:

• Declare their love very quickly.
• Always have an excuse for not meeting in person.
• Frequently cancel video calls.
• Claim to work overseas, on an oil rig or in the military.
• Ask you to keep your relationship secret.
• Request money for emergencies, visas, flights or medical treatment.
• Encourage you to invest in cryptocurrency or trading platforms.
• Have inconsistent stories about their life.
• Ask for gift cards instead of bank transfers.
• Avoid introducing you to family or friends.

Even if only one or two of these apply, it is worth seeking professional advice before sending any money.

Romance Scams We Investigate

Our investigators regularly deal with a wide variety of online scams, including:

Dating App Scams

Scammers frequently use dating websites and apps to target victims looking for genuine relationships. They often create convincing profiles using stolen photographs and fabricated personal histories.

Facebook Romance Fraud

Social media platforms make it easy for criminals to contact potential victims through friend requests and direct messages. Many fake profiles are designed to look completely genuine.

WhatsApp & Telegram Scams

Once trust has been established, conversations are often moved onto encrypted messaging apps where scammers can continue their deception away from public view.

Military Romance Scams

Fraudsters commonly pretend to be serving soldiers deployed overseas. They may claim they cannot access their bank accounts or require financial assistance to return home.

Oil Rig & Offshore Worker Scams

Another common tactic is pretending to work on offshore oil rigs or remote construction projects where communication is supposedly limited.

Cryptocurrency Romance Scams

Some fraudsters persuade victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms that appear legitimate. Victims may initially see false profits before losing significant sums of money.

How Our Private Investigators Can Help

Every investigation is tailored to your circumstances.

Depending on your instructions and the information available, we may carry out enquiries including:

• Identity verification.
• Background investigations.
• Verification of employment claims.
• Address verification.
• Social media research.
• Open-source intelligence enquiries.
• Reverse image research where appropriate.
• Relationship timeline analysis.
• Online profile analysis.
• Connections between multiple identities.
• Public record enquiries where legally available.

Our aim is to establish whether the individual is genuine or whether there are significant concerns that should not be ignored.

What Evidence Could Be Obtained?

Every investigation is different, but we may be able to establish information such as:

• Whether profile photographs appear elsewhere online.
• Whether names, occupations and addresses are genuine.
• Whether multiple fake identities are being used.
• Inconsistencies between claims and available evidence.
• Links to previous fraudulent activity where publicly identifiable.
• Evidence that supports or contradicts information provided by the individual.

At the conclusion of the investigation, we can provide a detailed written report explaining our findings.