What Are Crypto Romance Scams And How Do They Work?

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Online dating can be a convenient way of meeting a partner in today’s fast-paced and increasingly dislocated world.

But it also provides a fertile hunting ground for scammers on the lookout for emotionally susceptible victims.

It’s the same with social media – crooks are able to scour channels such as Telegram, Discord and even WhatsApp for victims.

This relatively new type of cybercrime has been dubbed the Romance Scam.

I get a steady stream of emails from people who’ve been duped by crooks into parting with large amounts of money after being approached through dating apps or social media channels.

What is a crypto romance scam?

A romance scam is where crooks pose as attractive young women or men online (judging by the people that contact me, men are nearly always the victims) and strike up a conversation with the victim.

They rapidly build a relationship through flattery and flirting to quickly establish trust before mentioning a crypto investment scheme or platform that they or a friend are involved with.

Aside from crypto, this can also be Forex trading, binary options, stocks and shares or even gambling platforms.

They suggest that the victim invests some cryptocurrency or cash into the scheme, which promises huge returns in a short space of time.

Often the victim is directed to a Telegram or WhatsApp group which appears to have numerous members in it, all talking about the success they’ve had with the investment.

This is all designed to add credibility to the scam, but in reality the groups are populated by other scammers and bots.

How do romance scams work?

The main aim of the scam is to get the victim to part with as much crypto or cash as possible.

The victim’s new love interest gradually piles on the pressure to invest, with the victim often feeling that they don’t want to disappoint them, or imply they don’t trust them, for fear of losing the connection.

If they decide to go ahead with the investment, they are often directed to a scam website or mobile app where they’re told they need to sign-up for an account.

After this, they’re pressured to deposit crypto or cash into this account, often after being told to set up a cryptocurrency wallet at one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges.

From the people that have contacted me, these sums vary from just a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands.

Once the victim has made a deposit they’ll see their balance grow exponentially – often doubling or tripling in value in a week or two. These profits are not real and are designed to hook victims in further.

Fake profits and withdrawing cash from a romance scam

The trouble starts when a victim comes to withdraw from their account.

They’re given a variety of reasons as to why they need to deposit more funds to take out their profit.

These include:

• Local taxes (such as HMRC taxes).
• Analyst’s commission.
• Transaction fees.

Other excuses for non-payment include: the victim is suspected of insider trading and is subject to an investigation, or their money has been frozen due to a problem with the regulators/authorities probing the investment scheme.

None of this is real – it’s just a ploy to get more money out of victims.

Many of the people I’ve spoken to have paid the extra fees for fear of losing their new found wealth.

But after each payment, a fresh demand for cash or crypto is made and it’s usually at this point the victim starts to realise something is amiss.

If they start to question the scammers they usually break off all contact and vanish once they realise they’ve squeezed the victim dry.

But I’ve also heard about scammers resorting to threats.

A couple of victims who contacted me were told they’d be reported to their local authorities for committing financial crimes if they didn’t pay up.

Romance scam examples

Keeping up with all the different crypto scams is like playing whack-a-mole.

There are thousands of variants of the romance scam – sometimes termed crypto pig butchering scams – and as one shuts down another springs up.

Each time I hear about a new scam I’ll post a report, but here are few examples of some of the biggest:

• OGC Wallet
• AMYE
• USDTmining

I’ll also add comments from victims on the individual scam pages to give you a flavour of how the scam works in the real world.

Visit my scam listing page for a full rundown of the scams I’ve written about so far.

How can I spot a romance scam and a fake website or app?

There are often many tell-tale signs that a crypto romance scam website/app is fake.

Knowing what to look out for is crucial in order to protect yourself against the scammers, and is something I’ve written about in more detail here.

Briefly, a few things you should look out for are:

• Are the returns on offer extremely high?
• Is someone you’ve met recently online recommending the crypto investment?
• Is the platform being recommended only a few months old?
• Very little information about the platform online, either good or bad.
• The content on the site is poorly written, non-existent or plagiarised.
• Is the name of the platform similar to a legitimate financial institution?

There are other red flags to look out for as well, but If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Use your common sense and think about why this person who you barely know is offering you such a seemingly fantastic investment opportunity.

Also, consider whether the returns are realistic.

Yes, some people do make huge gains in crypto but it’s usually through hard work and careful trading, rather than a ‘get rich quick’ scheme.

Remember, it’s crucial that you carry out thorough due diligence before signing up to any financial service that involves parting with your cash.

Research a platform thoroughly online – if it’s legitimate you’ll find plenty of reviews and accounts from people who’ve used it.

Scammers hide behind fake profiles

Predatory scammers hide behind manufactured profiles using fake information.

Their profile photo is likely to have been copied from someone else – or a modelling agency – and all their details will be fake.

In fact, it’s often someone completely different behind the messages.

This only adds to the embarrassment of the victims, making them even more unlikely to report the scam, or tell their friends and family what’s happened.

In fact, it’s often family members and friends who’ve helped line the scammers pockets.

I’ve encountered several instances where people have borrowed money from those close to them to pay the additional ‘release’ fees demanded by the scammers.

I’ve been scammed – how do I get my money back?

This is a question I get asked a lot and the answer is the same each time.

Unfortunately there’s very little you can do to recover your stolen funds from these crypto scammers.

They’re based around the globe and often in countries where the authorities are not as strict as they are in your home country.

Also, they use a variety of methods to avoid detection and will frequently change locations as precaution.

There are services online that can help in crypto recovery cases, and they have had some success.

This often comes in the form of freezing the crypto wallets used by the scammers rather than actually recovering stolen funds, but it’s a victory nonetheless.

Romance scams are big business

The sums involved in romance scams are huge.

Figures from the US’s Federal Trade Commission found that some $139million worth of crypto was lost to romance scammers in 2021 alone, and that’s just from American victims.

Judging by some of the accounts that have been relayed to me, this figure is the tip of the iceberg.

I’ve had people contact me who’ve lost anything from $100 up to $120,000.

While there are profits like this to be made, the scammers are unlikely to stop any time soon.

Conclusion

Scams involving love and sex have been around since time began.

The crooks operating in the cryptosphere today play on the same hopes and desires as their predecessors did millennia ago.

People who are looking for love can often be blinded by the thought of an attractive young potential mate showing an interest in them and showering them with compliments.

In many cases the natural response is a desire to please, and demonstrating trust is one way of doing this.

Unfortunately, it’s this trust that the scammers exploit and it’s the reason scams of the heart – or romance scams – will be around forever in one form or another.

Related post: Crypto scam help and resources