News release

They love me, they love me not: how to detect romance scams and sextortion

March 9, 2026 - City of Prince George, British Columbia
From: Prince George RCMP

Content

Romance scams and sextortion are not new types of fraud – they’ve been around for a long time. It’s the ways that fraudsters are using these scams combined with new techniques that are continuing to trap unsuspecting users. 

Romance Scams:

A romance scam is when someone on the internet convinces you to enter into a completely virtual relationship, with the goal of gaining your trust. These most often occur through email and fake dating or social media profiles.

Once the fraudster has gained your trust, they will start making financial requests. Sometimes they will ask you for money for an “emergency” that has developed, or else to join in a business venture of theirs or to invest in cryptocurrency with them. 

They will use any means they can to convince you that their requests are legitimate and with advances in AI (artificial intelligence) technology, they can create official looking documents and videos that are often very difficult to detect as forgeries or fakes. 

Sextortion:

Sextortion is like a Romance Scam in that the fraudster will use a fake social media account or dating app profile to create a relationship with the victim. However, instead of asking for money, they will convince the person to perform sexual acts in front of the camera; send nude images or videos; or have sexual conversations via private message. With AI technology, they can create convincing videos that support the narrative of who they are or where they are pretending to be located. 

These fraudsters are not amateurs and know how to convince their victims to start sharing; once the fraudster has the victim’s content, they will threaten to share it publicly if the victim does not send either money or more material. They are often tied to organized crime networks around the world. 

“Romance scams and sextortion work similarly in that the fraudster will often start on an open platform and then quickly ask the victim to migrate the conversation to a private chatroom or encrypted app. This is so they are less likely to be detected by chat bots looking for specific text that blocks the chat, and to better isolate their victim from friends or family who may stop the conversation,” states Corporal Jennifer Cooper, Media Relations Officer for the Prince George RCMP. 

Here are some tips to help keep you safe from Romance Scams and Sextortion: 

• Familiarize yourself with social media privacy settings and consider limiting who has access to your personal information (i.e. friends list, location)
• Unless you know the person offline, there is no way to confirm who is on the other end
• Trust your instincts, be skeptical and cautious
• Never send money to someone you haven't met
• Don’t give out your personal information (name, address, DOB, SIN, banking credentials)
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you do not know
• Don’t invest your money in platforms provided by people you don’t know

For more information about Romance Scams and Sexting, check out our Safety Tips page or visit the Canadian Anti-Faud Centre. 

Related products

• Frauds and scams | Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Associated links

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

Contacts