WHAT NEXT AND WHAT TO EXPECT
Understanding What Has Happened
The people in the photographs or videos you were sent are not the people who scammed you. In almost every case, they are innocent individuals whose images have been stolen and misused. They are victims of this crime too.
It may help to understand a little about how this criminal industry operates.
Many romance scammers are based in West Africa, although offenders also operate from other parts of the world. Some work for large organised crime groups, others for smaller local networks, and some operate independently. Romance fraud has existed for decades but has grown significantly with the rise of social media, online dating platforms and encrypted messaging services.
Identifying the individual responsible for a particular scam is extremely difficult. In rare cases, a scammer may reveal their true identity, but this is usually another form of manipulation designed to continue exploiting the victim.
Follow-Up and Recovery Scams
After a romance scam ends, many victims are targeted again.
Follow-up scams often involve the original scammer pretending to be their “real self”, claiming they genuinely fell in love with you and now want an honest relationship or friendship. The aim is usually to continue receiving money, gifts, accommodation, emotional support or even assistance obtaining a visa.
Recovery scams target people who have already lost money. Fraudsters may pose as:
- fellow victims offering help;
- law enforcement agencies such as the FBI or Interpol;
- lawyers or investigation firms;
- cryptocurrency recovery specialists;
- social media accounts claiming they can recover your funds.
In reality, no legitimate organisation will contact you in this way or ask you to pay an upfront fee to recover money. While specialist organisations and, in some cases, UK police may be able to assist with enquiries, there is no guaranteed recovery service.
Some UK victims may be entitled to reimbursement from their bank under the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) or other applicable reimbursement arrangements, depending on the circumstances of their case. Read more here.
Protecting Yourself Online
Scammers rarely disappear after a fraud has ended.
They frequently keep victims’ contact details and may return months or even years later using new phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts or entirely new identities. Victim information is often shared or sold to other criminal groups.
For this reason, it is important to review and strengthen your online security. Consider:
- checking the privacy settings on all your social media accounts;
- removing personal information that could identify your location, workplace or family members;
- reviewing your friends and followers, removing anyone you do not know personally;
- changing passwords and enabling two-factor authentication wherever possible;
- being cautious about accepting new friend requests or messages from unknown people.
(See our LoveSaid guide on safeguarding your social media accounts.)
Scammers also obtain phone numbers through previous scams, data breaches, online services and temporary number websites that are used to verify accounts on dating apps and messaging platforms. You can read more about this in our Number Nonsense article.
Reporting
Your first priority should be to contact your bank as soon as possible.
They can help secure your accounts, prevent further payments and advise you on any reimbursement options that may be available.
In some cases, scammers obtain access to accounts through spyware or by persuading victims to disclose sensitive information. Others deliberately transfer money into victims’ accounts before coercing them into forwarding it elsewhere or converting it into cryptocurrency. This is a form of money laundering and is often accompanied by threats that the victim will be reported to the authorities if they refuse.
Reporting the fraud promptly helps protect both you and your accounts. It may also reduce the likelihood of your bank arguing that delays contributed to the loss, which could affect any reimbursement assessment.
Although the chances of identifying and prosecuting those responsible can be limited, it is still important to report the crime to the relevant authorities.
Every report contributes valuable intelligence. When reports from multiple victims identify the same individuals, networks or methods, authorities are better able to build evidence and investigate organised criminal groups. Reporting also helps build a more accurate picture of the true scale of romance fraud, much of which remains hidden because it goes unreported.
You can find reporting information for your country here. If your country is not listed, please get in touch and we will do our best to direct you to the appropriate organisation.
If the scammers continue contacting you, or the harassment becomes persistent, it may be worth changing your telephone number, email address or other contact details. Blocking them alone is not always enough, as they frequently return using new identities.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further support or guidance.
Disclaimer: The overwhelming majority of people living in West Africa are honest, hardworking individuals who strongly condemn romance fraud. They are not responsible for the actions of the criminal groups operating within the region, and many are themselves victims of these crimes.