If someone you met online has taken money from you—or you suspect they are trying to—stop communicating with them, contact the payment provider you used, and report the scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Save messages, transaction records, and identifying details before they disappear. These steps are for readers in the United States; elsewhere, use your country’s fraud-reporting service and emergency number.
What to do first if a romance scam is underway
- Stop all contact. Do not send more money, and do not tell the suspected scammer that you are filing a report. The FBI advises victims to end contact immediately. See the FBI romance scams guidance.
- If money was sent, contact the payment provider now. Use the bank, card issuer, app, wire service, gift-card issuer, exchange, or delivery company involved. Ask whether it can stop, reverse, or refund the transaction; recovery is not guaranteed.
- Secure any exposed accounts. If you shared a password, bank login, or other account credentials, use the provider’s official recovery process, change the compromised password, and turn on two-factor authentication where available. The FTC explains account-recovery steps in its guidance for people who have been scammed.
- Report the account on the platform. Notify the dating site, social network, or messaging app where you met or communicated with the person.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local police. For a time-sensitive matter, contact local law enforcement directly instead of waiting for IC3. IC3 reviews and routes complaints as appropriate; it does not conduct investigations or provide complaint-status updates. See IC3’s urgent-matter guidance.
Ask the payment provider about every available option
Tell the company or financial institution that you were induced to make a payment by a suspected scammer. Ask what options apply to that specific transaction, and keep the case or reference number, receipts, and any instructions you receive. The FTC’s payment recovery guidance gives these routes:
- Bank transfer or Zelle: Contact your bank or credit union immediately and ask whether it can reverse the payment and refund the money.
- Payment app: Report the transfer to the app promptly and ask about reversal and refund options.
- Wire transfer: Contact the wire company, explain that a scammer induced the payment, and ask for a refund.
- Credit or debit card: Contact the card issuer or bank and ask whether it can refund the charge.
- Gift card: Contact the issuer, explain the fraud, and ask about a refund. Keep the card and receipt.
- Cryptocurrency: Contact the exchange or ATM operator promptly, report the transaction, and ask about reversal and refund options. Crypto payments do not have the same legal protections as credit and debit card payments and can be difficult to recover.
- Cash sent by mail: Contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. If you used another delivery company, contact that carrier promptly.
Where to report a romance scam
Make reports to both the FTC and the FBI’s IC3, and report the profile to the service where the contact began. These reports serve different channels; filing does not guarantee an investigation, a response, or reimbursement.
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- FTC: Submit a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC also advises notifying the social networking site or app where you met the suspected scammer. See FTC guidance on what to do if you were scammed.
- FBI IC3: File at ic3.gov. The FBI’s romance scams page directs victims to IC3.
- Dating or social platform: Use the service’s reporting tools to flag the profile and, where possible, the messages or activity connected to it.
Prepare the details IC3 asks for
Before starting, gather the information you know. IC3’s complaint instructions and FAQ request details such as:
- Your contact information and the dates and amounts of transactions.
- The payment recipient and total loss, if known.
- The suspected scammer’s name, phone number, email address, website, or IP address, if available.
- A clear description of what happened, including relevant dates and how the person asked for money.
- Email headers, when available. Keep statements about what you know firsthand separate from assumptions or suspicions.
The Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime’s IC3 filing guide says the form is completed on a laptop or desktop, cannot accept file uploads, and cannot be saved to resume later. It recommends preparing the information in a separate document before you begin. Portal workflows can change, so follow the current instructions on IC3’s site.
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Save the IC3 confirmation before closing the page
After submitting, save or print the confirmation page and submission ID immediately. IC3 says this is your only opportunity to retain a copy of the complaint and that it will not email the complaint to you. If you later learn something new, IC3 says to file a new complaint and describe it as additional information. The IC3 FAQ and the DOJ filing guide explain these steps.
What evidence to save
Keep original records in a secure location in case an agency later requests them. IC3 does not collect evidence or accept attachments. You can include information such as email headers in the complaint, but retain the source records themselves. IC3’s evidence guidance lists examples including canceled checks; card, wire, cryptocurrency, money-order, and prepaid-card receipts; phone bills; emails; web pages; chat transcripts; and telephony logs. Printed emails should include complete headers.
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This checklist is an organizing aid, not a formal evidence standard:
- Profile and identity details: Profile name, username, profile URL, photos, and the platform where contact began.
- Communications: Messages and call records, kept in the original app or export format when available; emails with full headers.
- Contact identifiers: Websites and domains, phone numbers, email addresses, wallet addresses, usernames, and payment handles used by the person.
- Payment records: Confirmations, receipts, account statements, card or wire records, gift-card details, and cryptocurrency transaction identifiers.
- Timeline: Dates of first contact, requests for money, payments, threats, and reports you have filed.
- Report records: Copies of reports and provider case or reference numbers, including your IC3 submission ID.
If the romance scam involved cryptocurrency
If the person steered the relationship into a supposed investment opportunity, preserve the transaction details for each payment. The FBI says this information is especially important in cryptocurrency investment-fraud reports and advises victims to file even if they do not have all transaction details. See the FBI cryptocurrency investment fraud guidance.
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- Receiving wallet address.
- Amount and type of cryptocurrency.
- Date and time of each transaction.
- Transaction hash.
- Exchange used, contact details supplied by the person, relevant websites and apps, and the timeline of events.
Be wary of anyone who claims they can recover cryptocurrency for you; the FBI warns that recovery offers may be another scam. A romance scam does not necessarily involve cryptocurrency, so include these details only if they apply.
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