If you have been defrauded in a romance scam, the first hours matter more than anything else you will do. Call your bank or payment provider immediately to try to recall the transfer, save every message and transaction record before the scammer disappears, and then file reports with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FTC, and your local police. Romance fraud is prosecuted federally as wire fraud, mail fraud, and identity theft, with sentences reaching 20 years, and courts can order convicted scammers to pay restitution. Getting money back is a different question from getting someone charged, and the honest answer is that most victims do not recover their losses, because the money leaves the country quickly and the people behind the scheme are often beyond the reach of U.S. courts.
The scale is large and the recovery rate is low. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged nearly 18,000 romance fraud complaints in 2024, with reported losses topping $672 million.1Internet Crime Complaint Center. 2024 IC3 Annual Report Studies of wire fraud victims show roughly one in four recover their funds in full, and those recoveries almost always involve people who contacted their bank within hours.
What To Do in the First 24 Hours
Speed is the single biggest factor in whether any money comes back. Work through these actions in order.
Call your bank or payment provider. If you sent a wire transfer, call your bank’s fraud department and request a recall. The bank can attempt to claw back the funds from the receiving institution, but success depends almost entirely on whether the money is still sitting in the destination account. For credit card payments, dispute the charges. For cryptocurrency, there is no recall mechanism; still report the transaction to the exchange if one was involved. Gift card codes are usually gone the moment the scammer redeems them, but contact the issuing retailer anyway, because occasionally a card has not yet been drained.
Preserve evidence before the scammer vanishes. Download complete chat logs from every platform you used. Save emails with full headers using your provider’s “show original” option, which captures routing data investigators need. Screenshot the scammer’s profile, photos, phone numbers, usernames, and any wallet addresses or account numbers they gave you. Profiles disappear fast once a scammer suspects they have been caught.
Pull your financial records. Collect bank and credit card statements showing every transfer, wire receipts and confirmation numbers, and, for cryptocurrency, wallet addresses and transaction IDs from the blockchain. Investigators need exact dates, amounts, and recipient details.
Reporting the Fraud to Authorities
Filing a report does two things. It creates an official record for any future prosecution or dispute, and it links your case to a broader pattern law enforcement uses to identify and dismantle fraud networks. No single report triggers an investigation on its own, but your complaint may be the one that connects to hundreds of others targeting the same operation.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
The IC3 is the federal government’s central intake for cyber-enabled fraud.2Internet Crime Complaint Center. Internet Crime Complaint Center The online form walks you through the perpetrator’s contact information, the payment methods used, and your total losses. You get a case number; keep it for all follow-up. The IC3 routes complaints to the appropriate FBI field office and partner agencies. File here even if you are unsure your situation qualifies as a federal crime.
Federal Trade Commission
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is a separate portal.3Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov The FTC does not investigate individual cases, but it aggregates reports to build enforcement actions and spot emerging patterns. After you submit, the site provides suggested next steps based on what you lost, and if you include your email address, those steps are also sent to your inbox.4Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov – FAQs If the scammer collected personal identity information, file a separate report at IdentityTheft.gov, which generates a personalized recovery plan with pre-filled dispute letters you can send to creditors and credit bureaus.
Local Police
Federal reporting alone is not enough. A local police report is a legal document that banks, creditors, and credit bureaus often require before they will process fraud disputes or block fraudulent accounts from your credit file.5Office for Victims of Crime. Steps for Victims of Identity Theft or Fraud A police report combined with an FTC identity theft complaint forms what is called an Identity Theft Report, which triggers stronger protections: credit bureaus must block fraudulent accounts and debts from your credit file, and companies must stop reporting that fraudulent information. Some departments are unfamiliar with online fraud and may be reluctant to take a report. Bring printed documentation of the financial transfers and the scammer’s communications.
Locking Down Your Identity
If you shared your Social Security number, date of birth, or bank credentials, the risk extends well beyond the money already lost. A scammer with that information can open credit lines, file fraudulent tax returns, or route stolen funds through your accounts, which can create legal exposure for you even though you were manipulated into participating.
Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert
A credit freeze blocks anyone, including you, from opening new credit accounts in your name until you temporarily lift it. It lasts until you remove it and costs nothing.6Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts This is the strongest protection available. You only need to contact one of the three major credit bureaus; that bureau must notify the other two.
A fraud alert is weaker but easier to live with. An initial fraud alert lasts one year and tells businesses to verify your identity before opening new credit. An extended fraud alert, available to confirmed identity theft victims with a police report or FTC Identity Theft Report, lasts seven years and also removes you from marketing lists for unsolicited credit offers for five years.6Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts For most romance fraud victims who shared sensitive data, a freeze is the better choice because it does not rely on a business actually following through on verification.
IRS Identity Protection PIN
If a scammer has your Social Security number, fraudulent tax returns become a real risk. The IRS offers a free Identity Protection PIN, a six-digit number that must appear on your federal return to verify your identity. Without it, no one else can file using your Social Security number. The fastest way to get one is through your online account at IRS.gov. If you cannot verify online and your adjusted gross income is below $84,000 ($168,000 for married filing jointly), submit Form 15227 and the PIN arrives by mail in four to six weeks.7Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN A new PIN is issued every year and must be used on all federal returns, including amended or prior-year filings.
Federal Charges a Scammer Can Face
Prosecutors rarely stop at a single charge. The specific counts depend on how the money moved and what personal information was stolen.
Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud
Wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 is the workhorse. It covers any scheme to defraud carried out through electronic communications, from emails and text messages to dating app chats. Conviction carries up to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1343 – Fraud by Wire, Radio, or Television If the scheme used physical mail at any point, mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341 adds another count with the same 20-year maximum. When the fraud affects a financial institution, the ceiling jumps to 30 years and a $1 million fine.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1341 – Frauds and Swindles
Identity Theft
When a scammer collects a Social Security number, bank credentials, or government ID and uses that information to open accounts or move stolen money, prosecutors add charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1028.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1028 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Identification Documents, Authentication Features, and Information Aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A carries a mandatory two-year prison term stacked on top of the underlying fraud sentence. That two-year addition cannot run concurrently with the fraud sentence and cannot be reduced or suspended.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1028A – Aggravated Identity Theft
How Long Prosecutors Have
Federal prosecutors generally have five years from the date of the offense to bring wire fraud or mail fraud charges. The window extends to ten years when the fraud affected a financial institution.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3293 – Financial Institution Offenses The clock runs regardless of when you realized what happened, so reporting quickly matters.
Getting Money Back Through the Courts
Criminal Restitution
When prosecutors win a conviction, the court is generally required to order the defendant to repay victims in full. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, mandatory restitution applies to any federal offense against property committed by fraud or deceit where the victim suffered a financial loss.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes The court must set restitution at the full value of your losses “without consideration of the economic circumstances of the defendant.”14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution
A restitution order is only as good as the defendant’s ability to pay. If the convicted scammer has no assets within reach of U.S. courts, the order becomes paper. The court can set a payment schedule based on the defendant’s income and obligations, but it can also order only nominal payments if there is nothing to collect.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution And this assumes a conviction, which requires identifying, locating, and successfully prosecuting the scammer, often across international borders.
Civil Lawsuits
You do not need to wait for a criminal case to pursue your money in civil court. A civil suit is a separate action where you sue the person who defrauded you for damages. The usual legal theories are fraud (intentional misrepresentation), conversion (unauthorized taking of your property), and unjust enrichment (the scammer profited at your expense). The burden of proof is lower than in a criminal case.
The barrier is the same one that limits criminal restitution: you need a defendant with identifiable assets. Suing an anonymous overseas scammer using a fake name is technically possible but rarely produces a collectible judgment. Civil suits become more viable when the scammer is based in the United States, when assets have been frozen by law enforcement, or when a third party such as a negligent financial platform bears some responsibility.
If your losses fit within your state’s small claims limit, that is the cheapest route to a judgment. Caps vary widely by state, from a few thousand dollars up to $25,000 in some jurisdictions. Filing fees are modest and you represent yourself. The collection problem remains. For larger losses, hiring an attorney for a fraud lawsuit is expensive. Hourly rates for civil fraud attorneys commonly run $250 to $500. State court filing fees generally fall between $75 and $500 depending on jurisdiction and amount claimed. Contingency representation exists but is less common in romance fraud cases because of how hard any judgment is to collect. Before spending more money on investigation or litigation, honestly assess whether the scammer has reachable assets. Throwing good money after bad compounds the damage.
Deadlines for civil fraud claims are set by state law and typically range from two to six years, often starting from when you discovered or should have discovered the fraud. Missing the window permanently bars the suit, so talk to an attorney promptly if civil action is on the table.
Why Overseas Scammers Are So Hard To Catch
Many romance fraud operations run from overseas, with significant concentrations in West Africa and Southeast Asia. The FBI maintains offices in cities around the world and coordinates with foreign law enforcement across more than 180 countries.15FBI.gov. International Offices When evidence or suspects sit in another country, prosecutors work through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties to compel foreign governments to gather evidence and sometimes extradite suspects. These treaty requests go through the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and are generally faster than formal diplomatic requests.16Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 276 – Treaty Requests “Faster” is relative. International cases take years, and cooperation depends on the relationship between the U.S. and the country involved. Some nations where scam operations concentrate have limited law enforcement capacity or limited political will.
Can You Deduct the Loss on Your Taxes?
Usually, no. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for personal casualty and theft losses through tax year 2025 unless the loss is tied to a federally declared disaster.17Internal Revenue Service. Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts (Publication 547) An exception survives for theft losses from transactions entered into for profit, such as investment fraud and Ponzi schemes. In 2025, the IRS specifically addressed the distinction: losses from romance scams and similar personal fraud do not involve a profit motive and remain disallowed personal casualty losses.18Internal Revenue Service. Advice Memorandum 202511015
The difference comes down to why you sent the money. If a scammer posing as a financial advisor tricked you into transferring investment funds or moving retirement accounts, that portion may qualify as a theft from a profit-seeking transaction and could be deductible on Form 4684.19Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 4684 If you sent money because you believed you were helping a romantic partner with a medical emergency, travel, or legal fees, there was no profit motive and the deduction is unavailable. Some scams blend both. If any part of your losses involved what you understood to be an investment, talk to a tax professional about whether that part qualifies.
State Victim Compensation Usually Will Not Help
Every state operates a victim compensation program, but these funds are built for violent crime. Eligibility almost always requires physical injury, a threat of physical injury, or death. Financial fraud without any physical threat does not meet the threshold in most states. A few states cover emotional injury for a narrow set of crimes like stalking or domestic violence, so it is worth checking your state’s program if the scammer also threatened you or the situation involved stalking. For a straightforward romance scam with only financial loss, this path is not available.