If you are on social media, you’ve almost certainly received an unsolicited DM from an obvious shell account — possibly a provocative message, accompanied by a generic profile picture, and a few sketchy posts with minimal activity. This typically warrants hitting the “Block” icon. Unfortunately, it won’t be so simple in the future, and some people have already learned the hard way that online romance scammers are rapidly improving their techniques.
What used to be seen as uncommon or even embarrassing is now the norm: Research shows that online dating is one of the most popular ways for Americans to meet their significant others. There have always been hackers at work on these social media platforms, and uncovering them has been trivial in the past. But with the proliferation of generative AI, these requests are now easily met.
Criminals Empowered by Technology
Today, social media accounts with detailed profiles, exemplifying extensive activity send highly personalized messages that are extremely likely to entice users with no cybersecurity skill or knowledge. Once a conversation starts and a personal connection is established, scammers behind a screen can lure their targets into video call scams utilizing high-quality deepfake technology.
What does this mean for the victims? A skilled scammer with these tools can convince their victim to make a true emotional connection with someone, who is under the impression that they are talking to a serious partner, who doesn’t exist.
Long-term tactics like these require a lot of effort, but the payoff can be significant as well. What begins as seemingly harmless requests for small amounts of money can rapidly add up, netting scammers thousands of dollars over time from a single victim. This can even result in victims feeling invested in the relationship, making them even more vulnerable and desperate. In some cases, these victims can become so attached to their “partner” that they have a difficult time believing that it could be a scam. Ultimately, this can make it difficult for friends and family of the victims to help them.
In 2025 and beyond, the cybersecurity landscape can expect a dangerous surge in both the quality and quantity of these social media and romance scams due to the further advancements in deepfake technology, making them harder than ever to uncover from a cybersecurity expert’s lens.
Preventing Romance Scams is About More Than Law Enforcement
Romance scams are personal, but the operations behind them run like businesses. Criminals run large-scale operations to scam numerous victims simultaneously, operating in remote locations beyond the reach of police. And these aren’t just nerds with computers—cybercrime is quickly becoming a revenue stream of choice for traditional criminal cartels. These groups are no less ruthless than they have been in the past and will often force vulnerable people to carry out these scams under duress.
Due to the difficulty of tracking down cybercriminal organizations, law enforcement agencies globally are often relying on international cooperation, which can be costly and slow in effect. By the time police arrive to raid the buildings where scammers reside, they’ve often already disposed of their devices and changed locations.
We can’t expect law enforcement to save us from these scams — and we can’t expect our devices to, either. It’s up to us as civilians to remain vigilant. Many people are convinced that their smartphones and computers are secure enough that scammers can’t get to them, but most may not be aware that these techniques have become extremely advanced. While deepfake detection measures are quickly being developed, they aren’t yet built into our devices by default. Recently, third-party apps that can detect and alert users to video and audio deepfakes on their device have become available and these may become increasingly useful in the future.
Social engineering scams like this can only truly be prevented at an individual level through awareness and understanding of how these scams work. Scammers online prey on the desire of those looking to form a human connection, and social media users often let their guards down when trying to do so. These scams are highly sophisticated from both a social engineering and a technology standpoint, and these instances can happen to anyone. Victims often feel ashamed to have been tricked and don’t report what happened to them, but it is becoming more common than ever.
When you meet someone new online, proceed with caution. Keep an eye out for red flags — unsolicited contact, quick romantic interest, situations that seem too good to be true, and of course, requests for money. Always be sure that you can verify the identity of people you meet online.
