Is this message a scam?
Answer eight yes-or-no questions about someone you met online. Get a score, then print a red-flag card to keep by the phone or give to a parent.
8 questions · about a minute · nothing to sign up for
Before you send anything
- Can't meet in person
- Asks for money
- Says how to pay (gift cards, wire, crypto, apps)
- Rushes you
- Wants to move off the app
Your 8‑question check
Think of the message or the person behind it. Each question is a red flag from the FTC. [FTC]
The rule
Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven't met in person.
[FTC]Your printable family card
Fold it, keep it by the phone, or hand it to a parent. Add a family member's number on the back.
Cut along the dashed line and fold. Front on the left, back on the right.
Before you send anything
- Can't meet in person
- Asks for money
- Says how to pay (gift cards, wire, crypto, apps)
- Rushes you
- Wants to move off the app
Never send money or gifts to someone you haven't met in person.
Call ______
ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Send me the checklist and card.
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2024
In 2024 the FBI's IC3 received 17,910 confidence/romance fraud complaints, with reported losses of $672,009,052. Complainants aged 60+ filed 7,626 of them, reporting $389,312,356. (IC3 counts romance scams together with other "confidence" schemes, including the grandparent scheme.) [IC3]