Screen & Scams
How much money is lost to romance scams every day?
Romance scams are among the fastest-growing fraud categories. US FTC reported losses grew from $76 million (2016) to $1.3 billion (2022) and reached $1.48 billion in full-year 2025 (+22% year-on-year, a $2,020 average loss per victim). Most victims don't report; actual losses are higher. Globally, with unreported cases and other countries, total losses likely reach roughly $5.9 billion per year. The shift to cryptocurrency in 2019-2021 increased per-victim losses, since crypto is nearly impossible to recover.
Roughly $188 in estimated global losses every second. (estimated, same model as the counter)
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel Network 2025; FBI IC3 Annual Report 2025. AnythingCounter overview →
Cite this rate
AnythingCounter derived rate, last checked August 2026: about $188 per second (about $16.2 million per day).
Method: Based on Federal Trade Commission 2025; FBI / IC3 2025, converted to a per-second rate (daily total ÷ 86,400).
Suggested citation: AnythingCounter, "Romance scam money stolen," August 2026, https://anythingcounter.com/romance-scam-money-lost-per-day
Primary source: Federal Trade Commission; FBI / IC3.
What this means for you
The median US victim of romance fraud loses $4,400, but that number hides an extreme distribution. FTC data shows that adults over 70 lose more than any other age group, with median losses exceeding $9,000. Many victims lose retirement savings or take out loans before realising what is happening.
The financial loss is rarely the most painful part. Victims describe months of emotional investment, an intimate relationship they believed was real, which makes the betrayal psychologically devastating. Studies find that victims are twice as likely to develop depression or PTSD compared to victims of property crime.
If someone you have met online is asking for money, for any reason, however compelling, and you have not met them in person or verified their identity via a live, unscripted video call, you should treat the request with extreme scepticism. Romance scammers are trained to make money requests feel natural and urgent.
The financial toll: what the data shows
FTC's full-year 2025 data: $1.48 billion in US romance scam losses (+22% year-on-year), a $2,020 average loss per victim
Federal Trade CommissionFBI IC3's narrower confidence/romance complaint category recorded $929.3 million in US losses for 2025 (+38% year-on-year), a different slice of the same trend since IC3 counts direct complaints rather than the FTC's broader network of consumer reports
FBI / IC3US romance scam losses grew from $76M (2016) to $1.3 billion (2022), a 17× increase in 6 years
Federal Trade CommissionCryptocurrency overtook gift cards as the most common romance scam payment in 2021
Federal Trade CommissionMedian romance scam loss: $4,400 in 2022 (FTC); up from $2,400 in 2021
Federal Trade Commission46% of romance scam victims first contact their "romance" on Facebook or Instagram (FTC 2023)
Federal Trade CommissionPig-butchering crypto investment scams cost US victims $5.8 billion in 2024 alone (FBI IC3)
FBI / IC3Romance scam losses vs. dating scam victims, today
Every victim who falls for romance fraud represents not just emotional damage but significant financial loss, the median US victim loses $4,400, many lose life savings.
The economics of romance fraud: from fake profiles to stolen savings
The fastest-growing fraud category
Romance scam losses in the US grew 17× in six years: from $76 million (2016) to $1.3 billion (2022). This outpaced almost every other fraud category. The drivers: the explosive growth of online dating platforms (providing an endless victim pipeline), the adoption of cryptocurrency enabling irreversible transfers, and the industrialisation of fraud through Southeast Asian scam compounds, where thousands of workers are sometimes themselves victims of human trafficking forced to run scam operations.
Global dimensions
The US data, comprehensive as it is, captures only a fraction of global romance fraud. The UK, Australia, Canada, and European nations all report significant losses. Southeast Asian scam compounds, documented in Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, have become global fraud factories, with operations targeting victims across North America, Europe, East Asia, and beyond. Interpol, the US State Department, and investigative journalists have documented compounds holding hundreds of trafficked workers who are forced to run romance scam operations.
How romance scam losses escalated
- 2016FTC begins systematic romance scam tracking; $76M in reported US losses
- 2019$203M US losses; cryptocurrency requests appear in romance scam reports for first time
- 2021$547M US losses (FTC record); crypto payments grow 25× from 2019; pig-butchering spreads globally
- 2022$1.3B US romance scam losses (FTC); 17× growth from 2016 in 6 years
- 2024Pig-butchering + romance fraud totals $5.8B in US crypto investment losses alone (FBI IC3)
- 2025FTC confirms $1.48 billion in full-year US losses (+22%), $2,020 average per victim; FBI IC3's narrower complaint category logs $929.3 million (+38%)
Romance scam loss trends: 2016-2025
Romance scam losses grew 17× from $76 million in 2016 to $1.3 billion in 2022. The shift to cryptocurrency payments made losses irreversible and dramatically increased per-victim amounts.
| Year | Rate | Est. per day | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $10/sec | $821K | Social media romance scams grow |
| 2020 | $38/sec | $3.3M | COVID drives online-only relationships; crypto begins |
| 2022 | $158/sec | $13.7M | Pig-butchering mainstream; crypto standard |
| 2024 | $161/sec | $13.9M | Pig-butchering dominates; scam compounds industrialised |
| 2025 | $188/sec | $16.2M | Full-year FTC total confirms growth, though below the earlier partial-year extrapolation |
| 2027 (forecast) | $301/sec | $26.0M | AI-generated personas and voice cloning make scams harder to detect |
Research on financial harm from romance fraud
| Year | Finding | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | FTC: ~$76 million in US romance scam losses (baseline year); baseline for FTC tracking | 76.0M USD losses (US, FTC) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2019 | FTC: ~$203 million in US romance scam losses | 203.0M USD losses (US, FTC) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2020 | FTC: $304 million; fourfold increase since 2016 | 304.0M USD losses (US, FTC) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2021 | FTC: $547 million, record; crypto payments ×5 over 2020 | 547.0M USD losses (US, FTC) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2022 | FTC: $1.3 billion reported by ~70,000 people; median loss $4,400; #1 fraud category by loss | 1.3B USD losses (US, FTC) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2024 | FBI IC3 2024: $672M in romance/confidence fraud losses (US); crypto investment fraud (pig-butchering, often initiated via dating apps) added $5.8B in a separate IC3 category | 672.0M USD losses (US, FBI IC3 2024) | FBI / IC3 |
| 2025 | FTC full-year 2025 (published May 2026): $1.48 billion in US romance scam losses (+22% vs 2024), a $2,020 average loss per victim | 1.5B USD losses (US, FTC, full-year 2025) | Federal Trade Commission |
| 2025 | FBI IC3 2025 Annual Report: $929,287,469 in confidence/romance complaint losses (+38% vs $672,009,052 in 2024), a narrower complaint category than the FTC's broader consumer-report network | 929.3M USD losses (US, FBI IC3, confidence/romance category, 2025) | FBI / IC3 |
How the number is calculated
The live counter uses the 2025 observed rate of ~$188/sec, derived from the FTC's full-year 2025 figure ($1.48 billion in reported US losses, +22% year-on-year, published May 2026). Annualizing: $1.48B US FTC × ~4 global multiplier for other countries and underreporting → ~$5.92B global annually ÷ 31,536,000 seconds ≈ $188/sec. The confirmed full-year total lands below the ~$1.54B that the earlier Jan-Sep partial-year figure implied when annualized. FBI IC3's 2025 Annual Report counted $929.3 million in its narrower confidence/romance complaint category (+38% year-on-year), a useful cross-check on direction rather than a direct substitute, since it captures a smaller, differently defined slice of reports. Global estimates carry significant uncertainty due to widespread underreporting.
Sources: see below. Full methodology: methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
- How much money is lost to romance scams per year?
- FTC reported US losses: $1.3 billion in 2022, ~$1.27 billion in 2024 (estimated from year-on-year growth), and $1.48 billion in full-year 2025 (+22%, published May 2026). Globally, accounting for other countries and unreported cases, total losses are estimated at roughly $5.9 billion annually.
- How has cryptocurrency changed romance scams?
- Cryptocurrency payment requests in romance scams grew 25× from 2019 to 2021 (FTC). By 2022, cryptocurrency was the most common payment method requested by romance scammers. Crypto transfers are irreversible, anonymous, and international, making recovery virtually impossible and law enforcement extremely difficult.
- What is the median loss per victim?
- The FTC reported a median individual loss of $4,400 in 2022. By Q3 2025, the median had declined to $2,218 per victim, likely reflecting more younger and lower-income victims filing reports as awareness grew. The FTC's full-year 2025 figure translates to a $2,020 average loss per victim, in the same range. Pig-butchering victims who invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms are the exception, often losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes their entire life savings.
How the romance fraud loss estimate is sourced and verified
The primary source is the FTC's Consumer Sentinel romance scam alert (May 2026), covering full-year 2025 US losses. FTC Consumer Sentinel collects reports from 35+ law enforcement partner organizations. For cryptocurrency component data, the FBI IC3 2025 Annual Report and Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report are used as supplementary sources.
Sources
FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book (annual, 2014-2024) - FTC Data Spotlight - Romance Scammers' Favorite Lies (2023) - FTC - Romance Scam Losses Spotlight (2025 partial year, Jan-Sep) - FTC Consumer Alert - New trends in reports of imposter scams (full-year 2025 romance scam losses: $1.48B, +22% YoY, $2,020 average loss/victim) - FBI IC3 Internet Crime Report 2025. Full methodology: methodology page.
Explore related statistics: Dating scam victims - Online scam victims - Phishing emails, and the AnythingCounter data dashboard.