Criminal lawPractical guidesWould you fall for a romance scam? How to spot a professional scammer

In the digital age, finding love online or through dating apps has become as common as shopping online. But just as there are real people looking for a real connection, there are also people and organisations with less noble intentions: professional scammers who exploit the emotional vulnerability of others. The romance scam is a fraud in which the scammer poses as someone interested in a romantic relationship in order to win the victim’s trust and obtain money or sensitive information.

How a romance scam works

It usually follows a well-defined pattern. It begins with an initial contact on a dating app, a social network or even WhatsApp. The scammer presents themselves as charming and understanding, able to say everything the victim wants to hear, often using stolen photographs of attractive people and profiles that seem too good to be true. Once the relationship is established, which can take weeks or even months, the scammer begins to share moving stories or emergencies that require financial help: unexpected medical expenses, a plane ticket to visit the victim or any other excuse justifying an urgent need for money. The aim is to manipulate the victim emotionally to the point where helping their “partner” feels like the right thing to do. Once the transfer is made, the scammer very probably disappears or keeps inventing new excuses to continue the fraud.

How to recognise a romance scam

Too perfect to be real: if the person seems ideal in every way and declares their love quickly, it is a warning sign; real relationships are built with time and patience. Excuses not to meet in person: scammers invent reasons, such as working abroad or being on a military mission, that make a meeting difficult or impossible. Requests for money: the most obvious sign; no healthy relationship is based on transferring money, especially between people who barely know each other. Evasiveness about personal details: scammers avoid specifics about their life and keep the conversation focused on the victim. Fake profiles: profile photos are often stolen from other accounts; a reverse image search helps to check them.

How to avoid falling for it

Verify the identity before becoming emotionally involved with someone you met online: search their name, check their social media and run a reverse image search. Be careful with personal information: do not share your address, telephone number or financial details with someone you do not know in person. Never send money to someone you only know online, however convincing the story. Trust your instincts: if the relationship moves too fast or you feel pressured, take a moment to reassess. Talk to someone you trust: an outside perspective often brings clarity.

Real cases

Spanish courts and media have reported numerous cases: a man imprisoned for defrauding around twenty women of more than 68,000 euros; a victim led to believe she was talking to a famous actor through a supposed fan club, defrauded of 170,000 euros by an organisation targeting vulnerable people; a fake United States marine who obtained more than 180,000 euros from a woman over several years through fake dating profiles; a fraud of more than 25,000 euros on Facebook by someone posing as a Guardia Civil officer in difficulty; and a case in which the victim bought an engagement ring for a supposed celebrity, behind whom was a woman in England.

What to do if you have already been a victim

Act quickly. Stop all communication with the scammer immediately and report the fraud to the police and to the platform where it took place. Contact your bank if you have sent money, to see whether it can be recovered. Remember that you are neither the first nor the last victim of this kind of fraud: only around ten per cent of these scams are reported, because victims are ashamed to talk about them. True love will not ask you to empty your bank account.

Romance scams almost always end in a network of intermediary accounts, which turns the case into an investigation for money laundering as well as online fraud. If you have been a victim, we act as private prosecutor to trace and block the funds from our offices in Alicante and Madrid.

How the law classifies the romance scam

Legally, the romance scam is fraud under Articles 248 to 250 of the Criminal Code: a deception sufficient to cause an error that leads the victim to make a payment to their detriment. Under Article 249 the penalty is imprisonment of six months to three years when the amount exceeds four hundred euros, and under Article 250 it rises to one to six years and a fine when, among other circumstances, the fraud takes advantage of the victim’s personal circumstances or the amount exceeds fifty thousand euros, a threshold that these schemes frequently reach because they extract money over months. The courts have also treated the abuse of the emotional relationship created by the scammer as relevant to the seriousness of the conduct.

Money mules and laundering

The money rarely goes directly to the person behind the profile. It passes through accounts of third parties recruited with offers of easy work or, at times, through accounts of other victims who are asked to “help” with a transfer. Those intermediaries may be prosecuted for money laundering under Article 301 of the Criminal Code, which punishes with imprisonment of six months to six years and a fine whoever acquires, converts or transfers property knowing that it derives from a criminal activity, and also, with a lower penalty, whoever does so through gross negligence. Anyone who has been asked by an online partner to receive and forward money should refuse and seek advice, because the account holder is the first person the investigation will identify.

What to do when the deception is discovered

The first step is to stop all payments and all contact, without warning the scammer, and to preserve the entire history: profiles, messages, photographs, e-mails, telephone numbers, account numbers and receipts of every transfer. The second is to notify the bank in writing, requesting the recall of recent transfers and the blocking of any beneficiary accounts in Spain. The third is the criminal complaint, filed with the National Police, the Guardia Civil or the duty court, including the civil claim for the amounts lost. Victims should be wary of a second approach, often presented as a recovery agency or a foreign authority, that offers to recover the money in exchange for an advance payment: it is the same fraud in a new guise.

Frequently asked questions

Can the money from a romance scam be recovered?

Sometimes, and the sooner you act the better: a criminal complaint allows the authorities to trace and freeze the intermediary accounts, and a bank claim may recover recent transfers.

Should I report it even if I feel ashamed?

Yes. Reporting is the only way to stop the scheme and to have any chance of recovering the money; these scams affect thousands of people and the police treat them as organised crime.

Which offences are involved?

Fraud (Article 248 of the Spanish Criminal Code) and, in most cases, money laundering by those who move the funds through intermediary accounts.

Can a romance scam be aggravated fraud?

Yes. Under Article 250 of the Criminal Code the penalty is one to six years’ imprisonment and a fine when, among other circumstances, the amount exceeds fifty thousand euros or the fraud takes advantage of the victim’s personal circumstances.

I received money from my online partner and forwarded it. Am I at risk?

Yes. The holder of an account used to move the proceeds of a fraud may be investigated for money laundering under Article 301 of the Criminal Code, even by gross negligence. Stop, keep all the evidence and seek legal advice.

Related guides

• Recovering money from an online scam in Spain
• Article 248 of the Spanish Criminal Code
• Frequently asked questions on criminal defence in Spain

This article is informative in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific case, consult a lawyer.