Scammers commonly use fabricated, high-stakes scenarios to create urgency and manipulate victims, particularly in romance and impersonation scams. Top excuses include needing funds for a medical emergency (for themselves or a family member), being stranded abroad or in legal trouble, and claiming business or travel restrictions prevent in-person meetings.
Scammers use phrases that create urgency, fear, or excitement, demanding immediate action like "Act now!" or "Don't hang up," and often involve requests for gift cards or Bitcoin, combined with threats of account compromise or promises of huge rewards (e.g., "You've won!") to bypass logic. Key tactics include isolation ("Don't tell anyone"), emotional manipulation (love bombing, family emergencies), and unusual requests to move money in specific ways (Bitcoin ATMs, secret accounts).
Here are 10 common practices scammers keep in their arsenals to attempt to fool victims and commit fraud.
They might ask you to set up accounts or transfer money they give you. Or they might convince you to use cryptocurrency and invest in a fake scheme they say is real. Either way, the scammer steals your money and disappears, and you don't get it back.
Never give banking or personal details to anyone you don't know or trust. This information is valuable so make sure you protect it. Always log on to a website directly rather than clicking on links in an email.
The best Gmail trick is plus addressing: you can add +anything after your username (e.g., yourname+shopping@gmail.com) and all mail still goes to yourname@gmail.com, letting you create infinite unique addresses for tracking, filtering, and sign-ups without new accounts. This lets you spot spam (if yourname+weirdsite gets spam) or automatically filter newsletters (using a filter for yourname+newsletters) to keep your main inbox clean.
Although lore behind the name Spam varies, Hormel himself claimed the product was named for a combination of the words “spice” and “ham,” despite the fact that neither ingredient appears in Spam.
They might ask you to set up accounts or transfer money they give you. Or they might convince you to use cryptocurrency and invest in a fake scheme they say is real. Either way, the scammer steals your money and disappears, and you don't get it back.
Never give out personal information. Refrain from sharing any data. Even telling a scammer where you live or disclosing your email address can help them find other pieces of your identity on social media or from lists on the Dark Web. Ask for a reference number and tell them you'll call them back.
To test a potential love scammer, look for red flags like rushed declarations of love, excuses to avoid video calls/meetings, and quick requests for money, especially via gift cards or crypto; you can actively test them by requesting a specific, custom photo (e.g., holding a newspaper) and verifying their profile/photos with reverse image searches, as scammers use stolen identities and move quickly to avoid detection. Slow the relationship down, talk to friends, and never send money to someone you haven't met in person to see if they're genuine.
It might take days, months or even years before a scammer asks for money, but once the victim believes their relationship is genuine, emotional manipulation is applied to get them to send money over willingly.
They use many methods to try to gain your trust. Scammers may make up a noble international profession to explain why they can't meet you in person. They may talk to you many times a day, making you feel like you really know them.
Romance scammers use phrases to create instant emotional bonds (love bombing) and then create urgent crises, like "I've never felt this way," "You're my soulmate," or "I can't live without you," followed by requests for money due to emergencies like medical bills, job loss, or travel problems, often claiming they're stranded or have issues with Wi-Fi to avoid video calls. Key signs are intense declarations early on, requests for money, and excuses for not meeting in person, all aimed at manipulating you into trust and financial help.
Signs someone is pretending to be you online (impersonation/catfishing) include suspicious account activity (new account, few posts, stolen photos), requests for personal/financial info, urgency or threats, inconsistent stories, refusal to video chat, and asking you to move off the platform quickly to avoid detection. Look for a lack of verifiable details, overly perfect photos (use reverse image search), and excessive flattery or "love bombing" to build trust fast.
This may lead people to ask if scammers can actually fall in love. If you've been a victim of a romance scammer, it's important to understand that this person does not love you. Their only goal is to extract something from you, most often money. Any promises of love or a future together are manipulations.
Pretend to be an automated messenger.
One of the most satisfying ways to shut down a text scammer is to scam them right back—with a pretend automated message. As a bonus, you can also say that they'll be “billed” or “charged” for your services to really mess with their heads.
If you suspect a romance scam: