2026 Valentine's romance scams and how to avoid them

Valentine's Day should beryllium astir connection. However, each February besides becomes the busiest play of the twelvemonth for romance scammers. In 2026, that hazard is higher than ever.

These scams are nary longer elemental "lonely hearts" schemes. Instead, modern romance fraud relies connected artificial intelligence, information brokers and stolen idiosyncratic profiles. Rather than sending random messages and hoping for a response, scammers cautiously prime victims utilizing elaborate idiosyncratic data. From there, they usage AI to impersonate existent people, make convincing conversations and physique spot astatine scale.

As a result, if you are divorced, widowed oregon returning to online dating aft the holidays, this is often the nonstop infinitesimal scammers people you.

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my champion tech tips, urgent information alerts and exclusive deals delivered consecutive to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant entree to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – escaped erstwhile you articulation my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

WHEN DATING APPS GET HACKED, YOUR PRIVATE LIFE GOES PUBLIC

Romance scams surge astir Valentine’s Day arsenic criminals usage artificial quality and stolen information to people widowed, divorced and older adults returning to online dating. (Omar Karim/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The caller look of romance scams successful 2026

Romance scams are nary longer slow, one-on-one cons. They're present high-tech operations designed to people hundreds of radical astatine once. Here's what's changed:

1) AI-generated personas that look and dependable real

In the past, fake profiles utilized stolen photos and breached English. Today, scammers use AI-generated faces, voices and videos that don't beryllium to immoderate existent person, making them astir intolerable to reverse search.

You whitethorn beryllium interacting with a illustration that:

• Has years of realistic-looking societal media posts
• Shares regular photos that lucifer the communicative they tell
• Sends customized dependable notes that dependable natural
• Appears connected "video calls" utilizing AI face-mapping software.

Some scam networks adjacent make full fake families and person groups online, truthful the idiosyncratic appears to person a existent life, existent friends and existent history. To the victim, it feels similar a genuine transportation due to the fact that the "person" behaves similar 1 successful each way.

2) Automated narration scripts that accommodate to you

Behind the scenes, galore scammers present usage bundle platforms that negociate dozens of conversations astatine once. This is known arsenic "scamware" and is incredibly hard to flag.

These systems:

• Track your replies
• Flag affectional triggers (grief, loneliness, fear, trust)
• Suggest responses based connected your temper and history.

When you notation that you are widowed, the code rapidly becomes much comforting. Meanwhile, if you accidental you are financially stable, the communicative shifts toward alleged "business opportunities." And if you hesitate, the strategy responds by introducing urgency oregon guilt. It feels personal, but successful reality, you're being guided done a pre-written affectional funnel designed to pb to 1 outcome: money.

3) Crypto and "investment romance" scams

One of the fastest-growing versions of romance fraud present blends emotion and money. A BBC World Service probe precocious revealed that galore romance scams are present tally by organized transgression networks crossed Southeast Asia, utilizing what insiders telephone the "pig butchering" model, wherever victims are dilatory "fattened up" with spot earlier being financially destroyed.

These operations usage telephone halfway benignant setups, information broker profiles, scripted conversations and AI tools to people thousands of radical astatine once. This is not accidental fraud. It's an industry.

And the crushed you were selected is simple. Your idiosyncratic information made you casual to find, casual to illustration and casual to target.

After weeks of trust-building, the scammer introduces:

• A "private" crypto platform
• A fake trading app
• A concern oregon concern opportunity, "they usage themselves."

They whitethorn amusement fake dashboards, fake profits and adjacent fto you "withdraw" tiny amounts astatine archetypal to physique trust. But erstwhile larger sums are sent, the tract disappears and truthful does the person. There is nary investment. There is nary account. And determination is nary mode to retrieve the funds.

AI DEEPFAKE ROMANCE SCAM STEALS WOMAN'S HOME AND LIFE SAVINGS

Data brokers selling idiosyncratic details substance a caller question of romance fraud by helping scammers prime financially stable, older victims earlier interaction is made. (Jens Büttner/picture confederation via Getty Images)

How scammers find you earlier you ever match

The biggest misconception is that romance scams statesman connected dating apps. They don't. They statesman agelong earlier that, wrong monolithic databases tally by information brokers. These companies cod and merchantability profiles that include:

• Your property and marital status
• Whether you're widowed oregon divorced
• Your location code history
• Your telephone fig and email
• Your household members and relatives
• Your income scope and status status.

Scammers bargain this information to physique shortlists of perfect victims.

The information brokers down romance scams

They filter for:

• Age 55-plus
• Widowed oregon divorced
• Living alone
• Financially stable
• Not progressive connected societal media.

That's however they cognize who to people earlier the archetypal connection is ever sent.

Why are widowed and retired adults targeted first?

Scammers aren't cruel by accident. They people radical who are statistically much apt to respond. If you've mislaid a spouse, moved precocious oregon reentered the dating world, your idiosyncratic information often shows that. That makes you a precedence target. And erstwhile your sanction lands connected a scammer's list, it tin beryllium sold again and again. That's wherefore galore victims say, "I blocked them, but caller ones support showing up." It's not a coincidence. It's information recycling.

How the scam usually unfolds

Most romance scams travel the aforesaid pattern:

• Friendly introduction: A lukewarm message. No pressure. Often references thing idiosyncratic astir you.
• Fast affectional bonding: They reflector your values, your experiences, adjacent your grief.
• Distance and excuses: They can't meet. There's ever a reason: subject deployment, overseas job, concern travel.
• A abrupt "crisis": Medical bills, concern losses, frozen accounts, concern opportunities.
• Money requests: Wire transfers, acquisition cards, crypto oregon "temporary help."

By the clip wealth is involved, the affectional transportation is already strong. Many victims nonstop thousands earlier realizing it's a scam.

The Valentine's Day cleanup that stops scams astatine the source

If you privation less scam messages this year, you request to region your idiosyncratic accusation from the places scammers bargain it. That's wherever a information removal work comes in. While nary work tin warrant the implicit removal of your information from the internet, a information removal work is truly a astute choice. They aren't cheap, and neither is your privacy. 

These services bash each the enactment for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your idiosyncratic accusation from hundreds of websites. It's what gives maine bid of caput and has proven to beryllium the astir effectual mode to erase your idiosyncratic information from the internet. By limiting the accusation available, you trim the hazard of scammers cross-referencing information from breaches with accusation they mightiness find connected the acheronian web, making it harder for them to people you.

Check retired my apical picks for information removal services and get a escaped scan to find retired if your idiosyncratic accusation is already retired connected the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a escaped scan to find retired if your idiosyncratic accusation is already retired connected the web: Cyberguy.com.

Practical steps to support yourself this February

Here's what you tin bash close now:

• Never nonstop money to idiosyncratic you haven't met successful person
• Be skeptical of accelerated affectional bonding
• Verify profiles with reverse representation searches
• Don't stock idiosyncratic details early
• Remove your information from broker sites.
• Use beardown antivirus software to artifact malicious links and fake login pages. Get my picks for the champion 2026 antivirus extortion winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

When you harvester these steps, you region the access, urgency and leverage scammers trust on.

SUPER BOWL SCAMS SURGE IN FEBRUARY AND TARGET YOUR DATA

Cybercriminals present deploy AI-generated faces, voices and scripted conversations to impersonate existent radical and physique spot astatine standard successful modern romance scams. (Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Kurt's cardinal takeaways

Romance scams are nary longer random. They are targeted, data-driven and emotionally engineered. This Valentine's Day, the champion acquisition you tin springiness yourself is privacy. By removing your idiosyncratic information from broker databases, you marque it harder for scammers to find you, illustration you and exploit your trust. And that's however you support not conscionable your heart, but your identity, your savings and your bid of mind.

Have you oregon idiosyncratic you emotion been contacted by a Valentine's Day romance scam that felt existent oregon unsettling?  Let america cognize your thoughts by penning to america at Cyberguy.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my champion tech tips, urgent information alerts and exclusive deals delivered consecutive to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant entree to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – escaped erstwhile you articulation my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.