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Family Emergency and Romance Impersonators: Verifying Requests for Money

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from Federal Trade Commission. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

Scammers Use Fake Emergencies To Steal Your Money

Someone calls or contacts you saying they’re a family member or close friend. They say they need money to get out of trouble. Not so fast. Is there really an emergency? Is that really your family or friend calling? It could be a scammer.

Examples of Family Emergency Scams

Scammers are good at pretending to be someone that they’re not. They try to trick you into thinking a loved one is in trouble. Here’s how the scam might work:

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Here’s a real-life example of a family emergency scam:

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If you get a family emergency scam call, here’s how it might go:

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And once the scammer makes you think they’re your grandson and in trouble, they pressure you to quickly send them money. But it’s all a scam. Your family member was never in trouble. Slow down. Verify.

How Scammers Convince You

The scammer may already know a lot about you or the person they’re pretending to be. They may know your name, where you live, and other information they could have found on social media sites or by hacking a family member’s email. And sometimes they simply guess.

But they always say you have to pay right away by wiring money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, sending cryptocurrency, using a payment app, or by putting money on a gift card and then giving them the numbers on the back. Here are other tactics scammers use in fake emergency scams:

  • Scammers might pretend to be an “authority figure,” like a fake lawyer, police officer, or doctor working with your family member. It makes them sound more convincing, and they hope it scares you.
  • Some scammers use artificial intelligence (AI) to clone your loved one’s voice. With a short audio clip — maybe from content posted online — and a voice-cloning program, a scammer could call you and sound just like your family member. 

What do fake emergency scams have in common?

  • The scammer will say it’s urgent and that you’re the only one who can help.
  • The scammer might tell you it’s important to keep it secret. They don’t want you talking to other family members and friends and realizing it’s a scam.
  • The scammers will play with your emotions. They’re counting on you to act quickly to help your family or friend. And they’re counting on you to pay without stopping to check out whether there’s really an emergency. If you get a call like this, you can be sure this is a scam.

What To Do If You Get a Call About a Family Emergency

If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a family member or a friend desperate for money, don’t trust the voice on the line — even if it sounds like your family member or friend. Scammers are good at faking it. Here’s what to do to verify the person’s identity:

  • Resist the pressure to react and send money immediately. Hang up — or tell the person you’ll call them right back. If you don’t feel comfortable hanging up, try asking a question only the real person would know the answer to, like “What kind of dog do you have?” or “Where did you spend Thanksgiving last year?”
  • Use a phone number you know is right to call or message the family member or friend who (supposedly) contacted you. Ask them if they’re really in trouble.
  • Call someone else in your family or circle of friends, even if the caller said to keep it a secret — or sounds like a loved one. Do that especially if you can’t reach the friend or family member who’s supposed to be in trouble. A trusted person can help you figure out whether the story is true.

If You Sent Money to a Scammer

Scammers tell you to pay in a specific way. They often insist that you can only pay in ways that make it tough to get your money back — by wiring money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, sending cryptocurrency, using a payment app, or by putting money on a gift card and then giving them the numbers on the back. No matter how you paid a scammer, the sooner you act, the better. Learn more about how to get your money back.

Report Fraud

If you spot a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.

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Our Anatomy of an Imposter Scam blog series breaks down how to recognize, avoid, and report business and government imposter scams.

What To Know About Romance Scams

Millions of people use online dating apps or social networking sites to meet someone. But instead of finding romance, many find a scammer trying to trick them into sending money. Read about the stories romance scammers make up and learn the number one way to avoid a romance scam.

What Is a Romance Scam?

You meet someone special on a dating website or app. Soon they want to email, call, or message you off the platform. They say it’s true love, but they live far away — maybe for work or because they’re in the military. Then they start asking for money. Maybe it’s for a plane ticket to visit you. Or emergency surgery. Or something else urgent.

Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps or contact you through popular social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. The scammers strike up a relationship with you to build up trust, sometimes talking or chatting several times a day. Then, they make up a story and ask for money.

The Lies Romance Scammers Tell

Romance scammers adjust their story to what they think will work in each situation.

  • Scammers say they can’t meet you in person. They might say they’re living or traveling outside the country, working on an oil rig, in the military, or working with an international organization.
  • Scammers will ask you for money. Once they gain your trust, they’ll ask for your help to pay medical expenses (for them or a family member), buy their ticket to visit you, pay for their visa, or help them pay fees to get them out of trouble. They may even offer to help you get started in cryptocurrency investing.
  • Scammers will tell you how to pay. All scammers, not just romance scammers, want to get your money quickly. And they want your money in a way that makes it hard for you to get it back. They’ll tell you to wire money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, put money on gift cards (like Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, or Steam) and give them the PIN codes, send money through a money transfer app, or transfer cryptocurrency. 

Scammers do these things to pressure you into acting immediately by paying money. But it’s a scam.

How to Avoid Losing Money to a Romance Scammer

Here’s the bottom line: Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met in person.

If you suspect a romance scam:

  • Stop communicating with the person immediately.
  • Talk to someone you trust. Do your friends or family say they’re concerned about your new love interest?
  • Search online for the type of job the person has plus the word “scammer.” Have other people posted similar stories? For example, search for “oil rig scammer” or “US Army scammer.”
  • Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. Is it associated with another name or with details that don’t match up? Those are signs of a scam.

How to Report a Romance Scam

If you paid a romance scammer with a gift card, wire transfer, credit or debit card, or cryptocurrency, contact the company or your bank right away. Tell them you paid a scammer and ask them to refund your money.

If you think it’s a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Notify the social networking site or app where you met the scammer, too.

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Our Anatomy of an Imposter Scam blog series breaks down how to recognize, avoid, and report business and government imposter scams.

Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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