Infographic: Looking for Love on All the Wrong Pages

This infographic highlights key findings from Graphika’s report on romance scams, which continue to be a major threat in the online fraud landscape. Losses in the U.S. alone reached $1.14 billion in 2023, with scammers preying on individuals through fake relationships and deceptive personas.

Key Data Points

• Scams with a Global Footprint: Romance scammers operate worldwide, with networks linked to Nigeria and Kenya targeting victims across the U.S., Japan, and beyond.
• Deceptive Tactics & Fake Identities: Scammers assuming fake personas build emotional trust with victims before exploiting them for financial gain.
• Online Pathways Used by Scammers: Fraudsters first engage targets on social media platforms before shifting to encrypted messaging apps. These private channels make it harder for platforms and authorities to track and shut down fraudulent activities.
• Financial Manipulation & Exploitation: Victims are persuaded to send money through various means, including direct wire transfers, cryptocurrency transactions, and gift cards.
• Patterns of Fraudulent Behavior: Many scam accounts are newly created, poorly maintained, and riddled with inconsistencies—such as mismatched locations, unrealistic biographies, and grammatical errors. A simple reverse image search often reveals that their profile pictures belong to real people or well-known figures who don’t use social media. Despite this, the sheer volume of fraudulent accounts allows scammers to persist, even as platforms work to remove them.

Why This Matters

For financial institutions, online platforms, and dating websites, understanding the tactics of romance scammers is crucial in preventing fraud and protecting customers. Scammers exploit digital payment methods, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, and gift cards to move illicit funds, often bypassing traditional fraud detection systems. By analyzing scam patterns, strengthening identity verification measures, and collaborating with cybersecurity partners, financial services and platforms can proactively detect suspicious transactions, disrupt fraudulent networks, and safeguard their users from exploitation.