Honey trap

In today's digital world, scammers have found new ways to exploit emotions for financial gain. Romance and emotional scams target individuals by building trust, manipulating emotions, and ultimately deceiving victims into sending money or compromising personal information. In this blog, we’ll explore two major emotional scams—Romance Scams and Sextortion Scams—and provide tips on how to stay protected.

Mohit Tejwani

3/31/20252 min read

1. Romance Scams

Romance scams, also known as catfishing, involve fraudsters posing as potential romantic partners to gain trust before asking for money. These scams often occur on dating apps, social media platforms, and even email.

How Romance Scams Work:

Scammers create fake profiles using stolen photos of attractive individuals.
They initiate long-distance online relationships, often claiming to be working overseas.
Once trust is built, they fabricate emergencies—such as medical bills, travel expenses, or urgent financial needs—and request money.
Victims who send money often continue to be manipulated for more funds.
Eventually, the scammer vanishes, leaving the victim emotionally and financially devastated.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The person avoids video calls or in-person meetings.
They express strong emotions very quickly, sometimes within days of talking.
They claim to have a tragic backstory or face an urgent financial crisis.
They ask for money via gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers.

How to Stay Safe:

Never send money or share personal details with someone you haven’t met in real life.
Reverse image search their profile pictures to check if they belong to someone else.
Be cautious if they refuse to meet or make constant excuses.
Report and block suspicious profiles on dating apps and social media.

2. Sextortion Scams

Sextortion scams involve criminals blackmailing victims with private photos or videos. These scams often start on social media, dating apps, or chat platforms, where scammers trick victims into sharing explicit content.

How Sextortion Scams Work:

Scammers initiate conversations, often using fake identities.
They quickly escalate the chat to a romantic or sexual nature.
They convince victims to send intimate photos or videos.
Once received, the scammer threatens to leak the content unless a ransom is paid.
If the victim pays, scammers may continue to demand more money.

Red Flags to Watch For:

The person wants to move conversations to private platforms quickly.
They encourage sharing explicit content early in the conversation.
They make sudden threats to expose your private messages or photos.

How to Stay Safe:

Never share explicit images or videos with strangers online.
Use strong privacy settings on social media to limit exposure.
If blackmailed, do not engage—report the scam to law enforcement and the platform.
Avoid saving sensitive content on easily accessible devices.