Monday, 19 October 2026 ⚠️ Real Incident

How Online Romance Scammers Exploit Love and Hope

Investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller created a fake dating profile to study how romance scammers manipulate people. She found that scammers quickly target online profiles with intense affection and daily attention to build emotional dependency.

What happened

Journalist Mariana van Zeller went undercover on dating sites using a fake profile named Mary Zelle. Within minutes, multiple online scammers contacted her. She maintained a relationship with a scammer calling himself Mark, who constantly checked on her to build a strong emotional bond.

How it worked

Scammers search online dating sites for people who are looking for connection. They use love bombing, which means showering a target with overwhelming flattery, constant attention, and care. By remembering personal details and devoting endless time, they build deep trust to manipulate the person's emotions.

How to protect yourself

• Double, triple, and quadruple check all information about someone you meet online.
• Share your online conversations with trusted friends or family members rather than handling them alone.
• Be alert if an online acquaintance floods you with sudden, overwhelming affection or promises that seem too good to be true.

Source: Psychology Today