When people think of romance scams they usually picture a fake profile on a dating app, but reports to regulators show that many begin somewhere else. In April 2026 the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a Data Spotlight on scams that start on social media, using reports to its Consumer Sentinel Network for 2025. This guide summarises what it says about romance scams and what the data does not show. The figures are US reports, so they are not directly comparable with the UK numbers in our guide to UK Finance romance scam figures, and the article is general information rather than advice.
The headline finding
The FTC reports that nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it started on a social media platform. That percentage excludes reports that did not indicate a contact method and those classified as “other”. In dollar terms, romance scams were a distant second to investment scams among scams that started on social media, with $298 million reported lost to romance scams originating there in 2025. The FTC cautions that most scams are never reported to the government, so real losses are likely higher, and it cites a study finding that only 4.8% of people who experienced mass-market consumer fraud complained to a Better Business Bureau or government entity.
How the tactics were described
According to the reports, scammers often tailored their act to the details in a person’s profile, and later either invented a crisis that required money or casually offered investment advice to draw the person onto a fake investment platform. The FTC also describes scammers who trick people into sending nude photographs and then threaten to send the images to their social media contacts unless they are paid. That final tactic is covered in our guide to sextortion in online dating. More broadly, the FTC explains that scammers on social media might hack an account to scam the owner’s friends, create entirely fake profiles, or use what a person posts to work out how to target them.
The fake investment platform pattern
The Data Spotlight gives a fuller description of the investment route that some romance scams lead to. Scammers pose as friendly advisers or set up WhatsApp groups full of “successful investors” sharing fake testimonials, then direct people to convincing but fake platforms. There the person creates an account, sees fake profits and may withdraw a small amount, which builds trust so that they invest more. The FTC says none of the investments is real, and that some victims reported secondary losses to people who claimed they could trace and recover lost money for a fee. Our guide to financial red flags in dating conversations sets out how to respond when a match raises investments.
What the data does not show
The Spotlight is about social media as a contact method, and it should be read within that limit. In 2025, the top contact methods by reports indicating a loss were website or app (31%), social media (28%), phone call (11%), email (10%) and text (7%). The Spotlight does not break out dating apps within the website or app category, and it does not say whether romance scams begin more often on social media than on dating apps. It also covers reports to a US agency, not the UK, and reflects the reporting habits of those who complain. Reports were not collected by the FTC during the 2025 government shutdown, which the FTC notes as a limitation of the 2025 figures.
Advice from the FTC
The FTC’s advice for spotting scams on social media includes limiting who can see posts and contacts through privacy settings so that scammers have less to work with, never letting someone met on social media direct investment decisions, and researching a company by searching its name with “scam” or “complaint” before buying from an advert. Its separate consumer guidance on romance scams says that scammers commonly claim to be living or working overseas, on an oil rig or in the military, and invent emergencies involving medical bills, travel costs or visa fees. It says the fundamental protection is never to send money or gifts to a sweetheart you have not met in person, and it suggests reverse image searches of profile photos. It also lists the payment methods that scammers insist on: wire transfers, gift cards, money transfer apps and cryptocurrency. In the US, reports go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov; in the UK, see our guide to recovering after a romance scam.
Frequently asked questions
Do most romance scams start on dating apps? The FTC Spotlight does not say. It reports that nearly 60% of romance scam losers in 2025 who indicated a contact method named social media.
Are these UK statistics? No. They are reports to a US agency and are not directly comparable with UK Finance data.
What did the FTC advise? Limit who can see your posts, never let someone you met on social media direct investments and check companies before buying from ads.
The bottom line
US reports for 2025 show that nearly 60% of romance scam victims who named a contact method said the scam began on social media, and that the scams often turn into requests for money or investment. The data does not compare social media with dating apps, so the practical lesson is to apply the same caution to every platform: never send money to someone not met in person and be wary of any invitation to invest.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, “Data Spotlight: Reported losses to scams on social media eight times higher than in 2020” (April 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, “New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams” (27 April 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice, “What You Need to Know About Romance Scams”
- Federal Trade Commission, “Reported losses to scams on social media eight times higher than in 2020” (Data Spotlight, HTML version)