Romance scam statistics 2025-2026: global data and trends

FTC reports $1.2 billion lost in 2024, FBI IC3 logged 17,900 victims. Comprehensive data on romance fraud across the US, UK, Australia and globally.

Romance scams remain one of the most financially devastating forms of online fraud worldwide. The numbers are staggering — and they represent only a fraction of actual losses, since the vast majority of victims never report. This article compiles the most current data from government agencies across the globe to paint a comprehensive picture of the romance scam landscape in 2025 and 2026.

United States: FTC and FBI data

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network database remains the most comprehensive source of fraud data in the United States. In 2024, the FTC recorded over 60,000 reports of romance scams with reported losses exceeding $1.2 billion. This figure has remained persistently high since the pandemic-era peak in 2021, when losses first crossed the $1 billion threshold.

Key FTC findings for 2024 include:

• Median individual loss: approximately $2,000, though the average is significantly higher due to extreme outlier cases involving six- and seven-figure losses.
• Top payment methods: cryptocurrency transfers have overtaken wire transfers as the leading payment method, accounting for roughly 34% of reported losses. Gift cards (17%), wire transfers (15%), and bank transfers (14%) follow.
• Contact origin: social media platforms (particularly Facebook and Instagram) were the initial point of contact in 40% of cases. Dating apps accounted for 28%, with the remainder split across messaging apps, forums, and other channels.
• Age group reporting the highest total losses: adults aged 55 to 64, with a median loss of approximately $9,000 per incident — significantly higher than younger demographics.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

The FBI's IC3 reported approximately 17,900 victims of confidence fraud and romance scams in its 2024 Internet Crime Report, with losses totaling $672 million. The IC3 figures are generally lower than FTC numbers because the two agencies use different reporting mechanisms and categorization systems. IC3 data tends to capture more severe cases where victims pursue law enforcement involvement.

IC3 noted a significant trend in 2024: the convergence of romance scams with investment fraud, commonly known as "pig butchering" (sha zhu pan). In these hybrid schemes, the scammer first builds an emotional relationship and then steers the victim toward fraudulent cryptocurrency or forex investment platforms. The FBI estimated that romance-baited investment fraud accounted for over $3.9 billion in losses in 2024 when counted under the broader investment fraud category — making it the single most costly form of internet crime.

Australia: ACCC Scamwatch data

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported through its Scamwatch platform that Australians lost AUD $40.6 million to romance scams in 2024. While this represents a decline from the 2022 peak of AUD $56.2 million, the ACCC attributes part of the drop to improved bank intervention rather than fewer scam attempts.

Australian data reveals several notable patterns:

• Gender split: women accounted for 53% of reports, but men reported higher average losses.
• Age demographics: victims aged 45 to 64 reported the highest total losses, consistent with global patterns.
• Payment methods: bank transfers dominated (62%), followed by cryptocurrency (22%).
• Platform of contact: Facebook was the most commonly cited platform, followed by dating apps and Instagram.

Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre, launched in 2023, has improved cross-agency coordination and contributed to faster takedown of scam profiles and accounts. The country has also implemented mandatory scam-reporting obligations for banks and telecommunications providers.

United Kingdom: Action Fraud and UK Finance

UK Action Fraud received approximately 8,000 reports of romance fraud in 2024, with reported losses of roughly £92 million (approximately $117 million USD). The City of London Police, which operates Action Fraud, has noted that romance fraud consistently ranks among the most emotionally harmful crime types it encounters.

UK Finance, the banking industry body, reported that authorized push payment (APP) fraud related to romance scams cost UK consumers £36.5 million in the first half of 2024 alone. The UK's new mandatory reimbursement rules for APP fraud, introduced in late 2024, have changed the landscape: banks must now reimburse victims up to £85,000 unless the victim acted with gross negligence.

Notable UK statistics:

• Average loss per victim: approximately £11,500 ($14,700 USD), one of the highest averages globally.
• Duration of scam: the average UK romance scam lasted 6 to 8 months before the victim recognized the fraud or ran out of money.
• Victim demographics: evenly split between men and women, with the 40-to-69 age range most heavily represented.

Canada: CAFC data

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) reported romance scam losses of approximately CAD $50.3 million in 2024. Canada has seen a marked increase in romance scams that transition into investment fraud, mirroring the US trend. The CAFC noted that cryptocurrency-related losses now account for over 40% of total romance scam dollar amounts reported.

Global comparison: losses by country

The following summary compares reported romance scam losses across major English-speaking countries in 2024:

• United States: $1.2 billion (FTC); $672 million (IC3) — 60,000+ reports
• Australia: AUD $40.6 million (~$26 million USD) — 3,400+ reports
• United Kingdom: £92 million (~$117 million USD) — 8,000+ reports
• Canada: CAD $50.3 million (~$37 million USD) — 4,200+ reports

These figures represent only countries with robust reporting infrastructure. Romance scams are a global phenomenon affecting victims in every country. The European Union does not publish consolidated romance scam data, but Europol has identified romance fraud as a priority crime area, and individual EU member states report growing losses. In Asia, romance scams are a significant problem in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where losses run into hundreds of millions of dollars collectively.

Demographics: who falls victim

One of the most persistent myths about romance scams is that victims are primarily elderly, lonely, and naive. The data tells a more nuanced story.

Age distribution

Romance scams affect every adult age group, but the financial impact varies dramatically by age:

• 18-29: highest number of reports, but lowest median loss (~$750). Younger victims are more likely to encounter scams on dating apps and tend to recognize them faster — though not always before losing money.
• 30-44: moderate report volume. Median loss approximately $1,800.
• 45-54: lower report volume but significantly higher median loss (~$4,200).
• 55-64: the demographic that loses the most money per incident, with a median loss of approximately $9,000 and an average exceeding $25,000. This group often has more savings and assets, and scammers specifically target and sustain these relationships longer.
• 65+: median loss approximately $6,500. Victims in this group are often the most reluctant to report due to shame and fear of appearing incompetent.

Gender

FTC data shows women file slightly more romance scam reports (approximately 55%), but men report higher average dollar losses. The gap narrows when pig-butchering-style investment scams are included, as these disproportionately target men. Sextortion — a related but distinct scam type — overwhelmingly targets men and boys.

Other risk factors

Research published in the British Journal of Criminology and the Journal of Financial Crime identifies several factors that correlate with romance scam victimization:

• Recent life disruption (divorce, bereavement, relocation, job loss)
• Social isolation or limited local social network
• Higher levels of emotional empathy and trust
• Lower digital literacy — though many victims are technically competent, suggesting other psychological factors are more important
• Willingness to engage with strangers online (not inherently negative, but a necessary precondition for the scam)

Trending: AI, deepfakes, and pig butchering

AI-generated content

The most significant shift in romance scam methodology since 2023 has been the adoption of generative AI tools. Scammers now routinely use:

• AI-generated profile photos: tools like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney create realistic photos of people who have never existed, making reverse image search ineffective as a detection method.
• AI chatbots: large language models allow a single scammer to maintain convincing conversations with dozens of victims simultaneously, drastically reducing labor costs and increasing scale.
• Real-time deepfake video: applications like DeepFaceLive enable scammers to conduct video calls using another person's face, undermining what was previously considered the gold standard verification method.
• Voice cloning: AI voice synthesis requires only a few seconds of sample audio to generate convincing voice replicas, enabling phone-based scams with "verification" calls.

Pig butchering (Sha Zhu Pan)

Pig butchering has emerged as the dominant romance scam variant by dollar volume. The name comes from the Chinese metaphor of "fattening the pig before slaughter" — building trust and emotional investment before guiding the victim to a fraudulent investment platform.

Key pig butchering statistics:

• FBI IC3 attributed $3.9 billion in 2024 losses to investment fraud, much of it romance-initiated
• Average loss in pig butchering cases exceeds $100,000 — far higher than traditional romance scams
• Many scam operations are run from compounds in Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines) using trafficked laborers forced to conduct scams
• Victims are directed to convincing fake trading platforms that initially show profitable returns to encourage larger deposits

Cryptocurrency dominance

Cryptocurrency has rapidly overtaken traditional payment methods for romance scam losses. The FTC reported that crypto was the payment method in 34% of romance scam dollar losses in 2024, up from 18% in 2021. Scammers prefer cryptocurrency because transactions are irreversible, pseudonymous, and difficult for law enforcement to trace across international borders.

The reporting gap

Every statistic in this article dramatically understates the true scale of romance scams. Multiple studies estimate that only 5% to 15% of victims ever report the crime to any authority.

Reasons for non-reporting include:

• Shame and embarrassment: the most commonly cited reason. Victims often blame themselves and fear judgment from family, friends, and authorities.
• Disbelief: some victims remain in denial that they were scammed, sometimes for months or years after the scam ends.
• Fear of not being taken seriously: many victims who do attempt to report describe dismissive or victim-blaming responses from police.
• Belief that nothing can be done: victims often (correctly) perceive that their money is unlikely to be recovered and that the scammer is unlikely to be arrested.
• Ongoing manipulation: in some cases, victims are still in contact with the scammer and have been convinced that any legal intervention will harm them both.

Year-over-year trends: 2020-2026

The trajectory of romance scam losses over the past six years reveals clear patterns:

• 2020: $304 million (FTC). The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated online dating and created ideal conditions for romance scammers — isolated, anxious people spending more time on screens.
• 2021: $547 million (FTC). Losses nearly doubled as pandemic-era loneliness persisted and cryptocurrency adoption created new payment channels.
• 2022: $1.3 billion (FTC). The first year to break the billion-dollar mark, driven largely by pig butchering schemes reaching Western audiences.
• 2023: $1.14 billion (FTC). A slight decline in reported losses, though reporting methodology changes make year-to-year comparisons imperfect.
• 2024: $1.2 billion (FTC). Losses remain at historically elevated levels despite increased awareness campaigns and platform interventions.
• 2025-2026 (projected): experts anticipate AI-powered scams will drive losses higher. The ability of generative AI to automate persuasive conversation and create fake identities at scale is expected to increase both the number of victims and the efficiency of scam operations.

What the data tells us

Several conclusions emerge from the global data:

1. Romance scams are not a niche crime. With over $1 billion in reported US losses alone, romance fraud is one of the most costly consumer crime categories — outpacing business email compromise in many years.
2. The convergence with investment fraud is the biggest emerging threat. Traditional romance scams that ask for gift cards or wire transfers are being eclipsed by pig butchering operations that extract far larger sums through fake investment platforms.
3. Technology is making scams more convincing, not less. AI-generated photos, deepfake video, and chatbot-driven conversations are raising the bar for detection. Methods that worked five years ago (reverse image search, demanding a video call) are becoming less reliable.
4. Demographic assumptions are dangerous. Anyone can fall victim. The belief that only elderly or uneducated people are susceptible prevents younger and well-educated victims from recognizing their vulnerability or seeking help.
5. The reporting gap makes evidence-based policymaking difficult. Without accurate data on the true scale of the problem, governments and platforms are making decisions based on information that may represent less than one-tenth of actual victimization.

Sources

• FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 — Federal Trade Commission annual fraud report
• FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report 2024 — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center annual statistics
• ACCC Scamwatch Annual Report 2024 — Australian Competition and Consumer Commission scam data
• UK Action Fraud Annual Report 2024 — City of London Police fraud statistics
• UK Finance Fraud Report H1 2024 — Banking industry authorized push payment fraud data
• CAFC Annual Statistical Report 2024 — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre fraud statistics
• Europol Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2024 — EU-level cybercrime analysis
• Whitty, M.T. (2018) "Do You Love Me? Psychological Characteristics of Romance Scam Victims" — Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
• Cross, C. & Kelly, M. (2016) "Where is the Fraud in Online Romance Scamming?" — British Journal of Criminology