I met someone online and now they are asking for money, is it a scam?
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01 · Checked with Hunch’s on-device engine, the same one inside the extension. How Hunch checks →
Part of our guide: How to spot an investment or crypto scam →
When someone you have only met online asks for money, it is time to pause and check, regardless of how genuine the connection feels. Real relationships are possible online, but a request for cash from someone you have never met in person is the single most reliable warning sign of a romance scam. Watch for a fast, intense bond, constant reasons you can never video-call or meet, and a sudden emergency that only your money can fix. Use the checks below before you send anything.
Got a message like this? Paste it here →
Romance scams target people seeking connection, often after a breakup, a loss, or a stretch of loneliness, reached on dating apps and social media. They work by investing weeks of attention to build a real-feeling bond, then leveraging that emotional trust with an urgent crisis, so refusing to help feels like abandoning someone you have come to care about.
Advisory, not an accusation: legitimate businesses of this kind exist. Hunch flags the high-pressure and income-claim patterns, verify before paying or recruiting.
Illustrative example of the pattern, not a real message someone received.
How to verify it yourself
- Warning sign 1, moves fast, calls you "my love" quickly: an intense bond formed in days, before you have ever met, is a technique to build trust for the ask.
- Warning sign 2, never available in person: repeated excuses that they cannot video-call or meet, travel, the military, an oil rig, poor connection, keep you from confirming they are real.
- Warning sign 3, a sudden emergency needing money: a customs fee, a medical bill, a stranded-abroad crisis, or a can't-miss investment that only you can solve.
- Warning sign 4, untraceable payment requested: gift cards, crypto, wire transfers, or a payment app are demanded because they are hard to reverse. These signs mean pause and verify, they are about the pattern, not an accusation against any one person.
Common questions
is someone I met online asking for money a scam
A request for money from someone you have never met in person is the strongest sign of a romance scam. Genuine partners do not make your first real act one of sending cash.
why won't the person I met online video call me
Scammers avoid live video because their photos and identity are stolen. Endless excuses for not meeting or calling on camera are a deliberate way to keep you from verifying who they are.
what payment methods do romance scammers ask for
They favor gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and payment apps because those are fast and nearly impossible to reverse. A request paid this way is a major red flag.
how do I verify if an online partner is real before sending money
Insist on a live video call, do a reverse-image search of their photos, and never send money. If they resist meeting on camera or the story keeps shifting, walk away.
If you already responded
- Before you send anything: insist on a live video call and try to reverse-image-search their photos, scammers use stolen pictures and dodge live video.
- Ask specific, verifiable questions about the emergency and their identity, and talk it over with a friend or family member who can see it clearly.
- Never pay in gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or payment apps for someone you have not met, those channels are chosen because they cannot be reversed.
- Walk away and stop sending money the moment the reasons keep shifting or the requests keep growing; if you already sent funds, report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Source: FTC, Romance Scams