Romance Scam
What is Romance Scam?
Romance ScamA long-running social-engineering fraud in which an attacker builds a fake romantic relationship with a victim and then exploits that trust to extract money, gifts, or sensitive information.
Romance scams (also known as confidence or sweetheart fraud) typically start on dating apps, social media, or messaging platforms. The attacker uses stolen photos and a fabricated persona, invests weeks or months building intimacy, and then introduces a crisis — a medical emergency, travel problem, or "investment opportunity" (frequently a crypto-investment lure known as pig butchering / sha zhu pan). Payments are requested via wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency to avoid clawback. Defences include user awareness, platform-level identity and image verification, reverse image searches, bank-side anti-fraud nudges before large transfers, and reporting channels for victims.
● Examples
- 01
A months-long online relationship ending with urgent crypto-wallet "investments" that vanish.
- 02
A fake overseas partner asking for repeated gift-card payments to cover an imaginary emergency.
● Frequently asked questions
What is Romance Scam?
A long-running social-engineering fraud in which an attacker builds a fake romantic relationship with a victim and then exploits that trust to extract money, gifts, or sensitive information. It belongs to the Attacks & Threats category of cybersecurity.
What does Romance Scam mean?
A long-running social-engineering fraud in which an attacker builds a fake romantic relationship with a victim and then exploits that trust to extract money, gifts, or sensitive information.
How do you defend against Romance Scam?
Defences for Romance Scam typically combine technical controls and operational practices, as detailed in the full definition above.
What are other names for Romance Scam?
Common alternative names include: Sweetheart scam, Confidence fraud, Pig butchering.