Reporting a dating scammer starts with preserving the account and payment evidence, reporting the profile through the dating platform, and notifying the organizations connected to any money or account information you shared. End communication and payments without alerting the person while records are being saved. If the situation includes threats, stalking, blackmail, or an immediate concern for physical safety, it has moved beyond a platform fraud report and may require emergency services or local law enforcement.
Published by Match Pace
If You Suspect a Match Is Running a Scam
- Stop sending money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, account access, or further personal documents.
- Save the profile and conversation before blocking or reporting the account.
- Avoid telling the person that you suspect fraud.
- Block the account after preserving what you can and submitting the platform report.
- Treat an immediate threat, blackmail attempt, stalking concern, or planned in-person harm as urgent.
Evidence Worth Saving Before Accounts Disappear
Useful evidence connects the online profile to the contact and to any request for money or information. Save screenshots of the full conversation, including dates and times where visible, along with the dating profile, username, profile URL, display name, photographs, stated location, phone numbers, email addresses, social-media handles, and any other account names used. Capture the profile in context rather than saving only a single suspicious line, since the pattern of pressure, changing explanations, or payment requests can matter.
For a financial report, retain payment receipts, bank or card transaction records, wire details, gift-card receipts and card numbers, payment-app records, cryptocurrency wallet addresses, exchange transaction details, and dates and amounts sent. Keep original files and make a simple chronological record of what happened, including when contact began, when the person asked for money, and when each payment or disclosure occurred. Do not alter messages or receipts; complete records are more useful than a reconstructed account.
Platform Reports and Official Fraud Reports Serve Different Purposes
A report within the dating platform helps its safety team review the profile and related activity under that service's rules. Use the in-app reporting path when available and include the account identifiers, screenshots, and a concise description of the suspected deception. Reporting there can help separate your account from the suspected profile, but it is not a substitute for contacting a payment provider when funds have moved.
A report to the Federal Trade Commission through ReportFraud.ftc.gov records the consumer-fraud experience and can be useful when a romance scam involved money, deception, or personal information. An FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, commonly called IC3, complaint is intended for suspected internet-enabled crime and can include the same transaction and contact details. These reports document the incident for the relevant agencies; filing one does not promise an investigation, a response, or recovery of money.
The bank, card issuer, wire service, payment app, cryptocurrency exchange, or other payment provider needs prompt notice because it may have records and account-protection procedures tied to the transaction. Local law enforcement may also be appropriate when there are threats, extortion, identity-related crimes, or a local element to the loss. Each report has a different function, so the same saved timeline and records can be reused without assuming that one submission reaches every organization.
What Should You Secure After Money or Account Details Were Shared?
Contact the affected financial institution or payment provider promptly and explain exactly what was sent or disclosed, including account numbers, card details, login credentials, wire information, or cryptocurrency transfers. Change any password shared with the match or reused on an exposed account, beginning with the email account that controls password resets, and enable stronger authentication such as an authenticator app or other account option offered by the service. Review accounts for unfamiliar changes, payments, recovery emails, or new devices. When identifying information such as a Social Security number, driver’s license, or financial-account details was shared, IdentityTheft.gov provides official recovery guidance tailored to the type of exposure. Immediate physical danger, threats of violence, or extortion involving imminent harm calls for emergency services rather than waiting for an online report.
A dating scam report is strongest when it preserves the original trail: the profile, the messages, the identifiers, and the movement of money or information. Platform reports can limit further contact, while financial providers and official reporting channels address different parts of the harm.