The Problem

• The Internet has become Ground Zero for romance scammers who lurk in chat rooms and on social media sites and dating apps hunting for victims.

• Romance scammers steal images from real, innocent people to create fake profiles. People whose identities have been stolen and used in romance scams often struggle to get social media platforms to remove them.

• Victims of romance scams often lose tens of thousands of dollars, and many end up experiencing severe emotional consequences.

• Many perpetrators of online romance scams can be easily identified by their pattern of online behavior. But social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been reluctant to take action against them.