Scam type
Romance Scams
Romance fraud is a long con. The person behind the profile invests weeks or months in daily conversation, shared plans, and apparent affection before money is ever mentioned. By the time a request arrives — an emergency, a visa problem, or a 'can't-miss' crypto investment they will teach you to use — the relationship feels real, because everything except the person's identity was.
If this has happened to you, please know that shame keeps many victims silent, and silence only helps the fraudsters. You were targeted by someone who manipulates people for a living, and reporting it is a reasonable, responsible step. ChargeBack can help you organise what happened into a clear case file, trace where payments went, and identify the dispute and complaint channels that may apply — while your bank, the police, and, where you need it, an emotional-support or counselling service handle the parts only they can.
The pattern
How this scam typically works
The approach
Contact begins on a dating app, social network, or even a 'wrong number' text that turns into friendly conversation. The profile is attractive and plausible — often a professional working abroad, on an oil rig, or in the military, which conveniently explains why meeting in person is difficult.
The relationship phase
For weeks or months there are daily messages, calls, pet names, and talk of a future together. No money is requested. The fraudster mirrors your interests and often moves the conversation off the dating platform onto a private messaging app, away from moderation.
The money requests
A crisis appears: a medical emergency, customs fees, a frozen bank account, a plane ticket to finally visit. Alternatively the partner reveals a 'profitable' crypto or forex platform and offers to guide you — the pattern often called pig butchering, where romance blends into investment fraud and deposits grow steadily larger.
The escalation and exit
Each payment leads to another obstacle that only more money can solve. When you refuse, hesitate, or run out of funds, the tone turns to guilt, pressure, or sudden coldness — and eventually the person disappears, sometimes followed by strangers offering to 'recover' your losses for a fee.
Warning signs
- The person avoids video calls and in-person meetings, always with a plausible excuse
- The relationship moves quickly to declarations of love and plans for a shared future
- Conversation is steered off the dating platform onto a private messaging app early on
- Money is requested for emergencies, travel, fees, or customs charges you must keep secret
- A partner introduces a trading or crypto platform and coaches you through depositing
- You are discouraged from telling family or friends, or told they 'wouldn't understand'
What to do right now
- Stop sending money and pause contact with the person — you do not owe them an explanation, and continued conversation gives them more chances to manipulate you.
- Contact your bank or card issuer straight away, explain that you believe you have been defrauded, and ask what recall or dispute options apply to each payment.
- Report the matter to your local police or national fraud-reporting service and keep the reference number; report the profile to the dating platform too.
- Preserve everything before blocking: chat histories, profile pages, photos, payment receipts, and any wallet addresses or platform links you were given.
- Be kind to yourself and consider talking to someone you trust or a victim-support or counselling service — the emotional impact of this fraud is real, and support exists for it.
Evidence worth collecting
- Bank and card statements showing each transfer or purchase
- Full chat histories from the dating platform and messaging apps, exported or screenshotted
- The profile pages, usernames, photos, and phone numbers the person used
- Receipts for gift cards, crypto purchases, or money-transfer services
- Wallet addresses, exchange accounts, or platform links you were asked to pay into
- Any documents they sent — IDs, tickets, invoices, or 'official' letters
- Police, platform, or bank reference numbers you already have
How ChargeBack can help
- Listen without judgement and reconstruct a clear timeline of the relationship and each payment
- Organise your messages, receipts, and records into a coherent, shareable case file
- Analyse where your payments went, including on-chain tracing when crypto was involved
- Identify which dispute, recall, or complaint channels may apply to each individual payment
- Prepare a written case summary you can hand to your bank, the police, or a lawyer
We assess and document; banks, payment providers, and authorities decide outcomes. No recovery can be guaranteed by anyone.
Possible channels
Dispute and reporting channels that may apply
Which channels are realistic depends on how you paid, where the money went, and how quickly the incident was reported.
Card chargeback
If any payments were made by credit or debit card — including card purchases of crypto or gift cards — your issuer may be able to raise a dispute under card-scheme rules. Time limits apply, so contact them promptly.
Bank transfer recall
For bank transfers, your bank can ask the receiving bank to return the funds. Outcomes depend on how quickly the money moved on, which is why reporting early matters more than having every detail ready.
Police and fraud-reporting services
A police or national fraud-office report creates the official record that banks and other bodies rely on, and romance-fraud reports are frequently linked to wider organised-crime investigations.
Platform and exchange reports
Reporting the profile to the dating platform and any crypto exchange involved helps those services act on the accounts and preserves records that may support your case.
In Canada
Where to report and complain in Canada
The official routes for someone who lives in Canada. Report quickly, and keep the file numbers you are given — every one of these bodies works from the evidence you hold.
Your local police
Report the fraud to your local police service — or to the RCMP where it polices your area — and ask for a file or occurrence number. Banks and exchanges often ask for it, and it belongs at the front of your evidence.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre as well, online or by telephone on 1-888-495-8501. The CAFC asks for reports even from people who have already gone to the police, and from witnesses as well as victims, because it is how patterns across Canada are found.
Your bank or card issuer — straight away
Use the number on the back of your card or on your bank's own website, never one given to you by the person or site involved. Ask the bank to stop further payments and to try to recall or dispute the money, and make a formal complaint. Note the date you complained: it starts the clock for the next step.
If your bank says no: OBSI
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments is the free, independent complaints body that every federally regulated bank in Canada must belong to. You can take your complaint to OBSI once 56 days have passed since you first complained to the bank, or sooner if the bank has already given you its final response. Once you have that final response in writing, you have 180 calendar days. Credit unions and caisses populaires are regulated by their province and have their own routes — ask yours which applies.
Interac e-Transfers and wire transfers
A payment you sent yourself is harder to dispute than a card payment, so speed matters most here. Ask your bank at once to contact the receiving bank and try to hold or recall the money. An Interac e-Transfer that has not yet been deposited may still be cancelled — ask your bank immediately.
Investment, trading, and crypto platforms
Check whether a firm or a crypto trading platform is registered with Canadian securities regulators using the National Registration Search, and report one that is not — or that took your money — to your provincial or territorial securities regulator. Unregistered platforms may lack the protections registered ones must offer. OBSI also handles complaints about many registered investment firms.
General information from each body's published guidance, not advice on Canadian law. Confirm deadlines with the body concerned.
FAQ
Common questions
Start here
Start with a free, confidential consultation.
Tell us what happened. We will review the information and explain whether our services are relevant — and, if you choose to proceed, exactly what any investigation would involve and cost.