Scammers exploit people's emotions and desire for companionship to trick them into sending money or sharing personal information, often involving cryptocurrency transactions. These scams typically occur on dating apps, social media platforms, or through email and messaging apps.
These frequently begin with an online relationship discovered through social media or dating sites/apps. In these cases, the scammer can maintain these “relationships” for years at a time, and they will always find an excuse to avoid coming home or seeing the victim in person at any time.
The scammer will ask to send funds to the victim for them to send back in different forms (cryptocurrency, giftcards, wires, etc) or send to another person (daisy-chaining). The victim will be told that they need to send money because the scammer cannot access the money themselves because their bank is closed/locked/inactive where they are located.
A tactic used to garner empathy or a sense of importance from vulnerable groups of people. Romance/Relationship scammers are known to impersonate: