Now, with the development of AI and the potential for deepfakes, the romance scammer playbook has just become much more convincing and is ready to prey on those on the dating scene in 2026.
In an effort to warn people against handing over money to what seems to be a secret admirer, the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3) has released a guide to spotting these scams before they take hold.
According to the JPC3, romance scams were the third-most-reported type of scam in Australia in 2025, with 3,432 incidents as per Scamwatch. This represented a $28 million loss for victims, with a dramatic percentage of those scams being reported following online contact.
As AFP Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson stresses, these scammers work on urgency and will push people to digital platforms where their scam can’t be moderated or reported.
“A request or pressure to move a conversation off a dating or social media platform not long after initial contact can be a first red flag,” Superintendent Andersson said.
“Reason being is dating and social media platforms often have safety features and detection measures, which scammers want to get away from as soon as possible.
“Once a scammer has moved the conversation to a different platform, the victim is also isolated, meaning it can be easier to prey on their vulnerability, optimism and emotional investment to stop them walking away.
“Other warning signs include lots of attention or affection (love-bombing), oversharing of personal or emotional stories, having reasons why they can’t meet in person or video chat, and encouraging victims to keep their interactions private from family and friends, often under the guise that these other parties wouldn’t understand.”
These scammers, particularly those that work in overseas call centres have standardised playbooks designed to maximise success. This means scammers are often speaking to multiple victims at a time, with the intention of getting them on the hook, and then continuing to scam them over a long period of time and generate a continuous flow of cash.
“Scammers, who mostly work in call centres or boiler rooms overseas, have scripts and playbooks to follow, receive coaching, and operate 24/7 to deploy the best tactics to deceive innocent victims,” Superintendent Andersson said.
“Their modus operandi is to hook victims quickly, but they are then in it for the long haul, looking to draw the connection out for as long as possible to scam as much money as they can.
“This then creates a ‘double hit’ for their victims who, when the truth eventually emerges, are left to grieve not only the emotional impact of a relationship they believed was real but also the financial damage, shame, isolation and loss of trust.”
A standardised romance scam may look similar to the following:
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You receive an unsolicited message from a stranger that may or may not appear to be legitimate. They show interest in you and try to gain your interest, often by stating they have similar or identical interests.
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They push to move the conversation to another platform, using excuses like giving you their number to push the conversation to text, or saying that the platform you are currently on is one they don’t use often or is difficult to use. This may seem like a progression of the relationship, but it’s a way to keep the victim isolated and vulnerable.
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At this stage, the scammer begins to slowly develop more of a relationship, bringing walls down until they find a suitable way to begin persuading the victim to hand over money.
So what can those looking for the one do if they suspect the person they are talking to is a scammer?
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Verify as much as you can. This means reverse image searching, checking social media and more.
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Use the dating platform you matched on as long as possible.
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Ask for an in-person meeting or video call, but beware of AI-generated video calls. These can be identified with visual or audio glitches, signs of AI generation such as a robotic voice, unrealistic answers and changes in appearance, or low-quality footage, which may be used to hide these artifacts.
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If in doubt, speak to friends and family for their opinions.
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Most importantly, don’t send money until you can 100 per cent verify the legitimacy of the person on the other side, and outside of this, make sure their intentions are good. Even if the person is real, they still might try to get money out of you.
Daniel Croft