How to Report a Dating Scammer: Preserve Evidence and Use the Right Channel

To report a suspected dating scammer, stop further contact and payments, preserve the profile and message record, then report the account to the platform, your payment provider if money or account details were involved, and the appropriate official fraud channel. Act before the account, messages, or payment-recovery options disappear.

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Hands sort a dating-scam evidence still life on a home desk: a blank lined notebook with only abstract marks, a sealed envelope

Published by California Dating Guide

First, stop the loss from growing

An open hand blocks a payment envelope from crossing a clear acrylic barrier, while a closed wallet and unused gift card remain safely behind it

Do not send more money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, login codes, identity documents, or personal financial details. Do not pay anyone who claims they can recover a previous payment. Stop replying once you have saved the information you need.

If you sent money or shared bank, card, payment-service, or crypto-exchange details, contact that provider immediately through the phone number on your statement, the official app, or its verified website. Do not use a number, link, wallet address, or support contact supplied by the suspected scammer. Ask the provider to review the transaction as fraud and to tell you what protective steps are available.

A suspected attempt is still worth reporting. The Federal Trade Commission advises stopping communication and reporting suspected romance scams, even when no payment was completed.

What To Know About Romance Scams

Capture a record before the account disappears

  1. Screenshot the dating profile, including the display name, username, profile URL or identifying handle if available, photos, biography, and any visible location or account details. Capture the full screen where possible so the platform is identifiable.
  2. Save the conversation in order. Include messages that moved you to text, email, another app, or a payment service; requests for money or codes; payment instructions; threats; and claims used to explain the request.
  3. Record every contact and payment identifier: phone numbers, email addresses, social-media handles, payment tags, wallet addresses, bank-transfer details, links, and names used. Save transaction confirmations, receipts, transfer IDs, dates, amounts, and the destination shown by the provider.
  4. Write a short chronology while details are fresh. List the dates, platforms, names used, claimed circumstances, when contact moved off-platform, each request, and each amount sent or requested. Keep it factual; you are giving reviewers a usable sequence, not proving a motive.
  5. After preserving the record, stop contact without deleting the conversation. Mute, archive, block, or use the platform's reporting flow as appropriate, but keep your screenshots and chronology in a separate place.

What To Know About Romance Scams · Romance Scams

Route the report by what happened

Report the account through the dating platform's scam, impersonation, fraud, or safety channel. Attach or describe the profile identifiers, messages, payment request, and any contact details used off-platform. The platform can review the account and may use your report to identify related activity.

If money was sent, the payment-provider report takes priority because the provider may have limited time to review or interrupt a transaction. Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire service, or crypto exchange first, then complete the platform report. Keep the case or reference number the provider gives you.

Submit an official fraud report using your preserved records. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission accepts reports of suspected romance scams, and the FBI directs reports of romance scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Use the channel that matches your circumstances and retain confirmation details.

If the person threatens immediate harm, extortion, or a credible in-person danger, contact emergency services or local law enforcement as appropriate. Do not negotiate, send money, or meet the person to resolve the threat.

What To Know About Romance Scams · Romance Scams

Secure accounts when information was shared

Change passwords for any account whose password, login code, recovery information, email address, or personal details may have been exposed. Start with your email account, because it can be used to reset other accounts. Use a new, unique password rather than a variation of an old one.

Review account security settings for unfamiliar devices, active sessions, recovery email addresses, phone numbers, forwarding rules, payment methods, and recent changes. Sign out of sessions you do not recognize and enable available multi-factor authentication.

If you disclosed sensitive identity information, such as a Social Security number, driver's license image, bank credentials, or tax information, follow current official identity-theft guidance. Consider whether a credit report freeze is appropriate for your situation, and watch financial and account notices closely.

Completion check

  • You stopped sending money, codes, documents, and new personal details.
  • You saved screenshots of the profile, conversation, contact details, payment requests, and transaction confirmations.
  • You prepared a dated chronology with names used, platforms, circumstances, and amounts.
  • You reported the profile through the dating platform's safety or fraud channel.
  • If money or payment details were involved, you contacted the provider through a verified fraud contact and saved its reference number.
  • You submitted an official fraud report where applicable and secured accounts that may have been exposed.

References