Where Do You Report a Romance Scam?

Several channels, different jobs

There is no single scam hotline in the United States. Reporting is spread across the platform where the contact happened, federal agencies, and your state's consumer-protection office — and each channel does something different. Filing with more than one is normal and expected. If you're not sure where a particular situation fits, USA.gov maintains an official directory that routes any type of scam to the right agency.

The platform itself

Start where the contact started. Every major dating app and site has a report function on the profile or conversation. This is the channel most likely to get the specific account removed quickly, which protects whoever the scammer contacts next. Do it even if the conversation moved off-platform long ago — the originating profile is what the platform can act on.

The FTC

The Federal Trade Commission collects fraud reports from consumers nationwide and uses them to spot patterns, build cases, and publish guidance. Its romance scam guide explains the reporting process and links to the FTC's reporting portal. An FTC report is not a criminal complaint and won't open an individual investigation into your case, but it feeds the enforcement picture — and the FTC's guidance also covers practical steps like contacting the company behind any payment method used.

The FBI's IC3

The Internet Crime Complaint Center is the FBI's intake portal for internet-enabled crime, including romance and confidence fraud. IC3 complaints can be aggregated across victims of the same operation, which matters because these scams are frequently run at scale. When you file, having dates, amounts, payment methods, usernames, and copies of the conversation makes the complaint far more useful.

Arizona's Attorney General

For Phoenix-area residents, the Arizona Attorney General's consumer section accepts consumer complaints and publishes state-specific fraud guidance. State attorneys general handle consumer-protection enforcement within the state and can be a relevant channel when there's any Arizona connection to the scheme.

Local police

If money was actually lost, a local police report creates an official record, which banks and card issuers sometimes ask for when you dispute transactions. Phoenix residents can file certain reports online rather than in person — we cover the mechanics in our guide to Phoenix police online reporting.

Gather before you file

Every channel asks for roughly the same evidence, so collect it once: the profile name and platform, screenshots of conversations, dates of contact, every payment with date, amount, and method, and any names, phone numbers, or account details the other party supplied. Keep originals; send copies.

One more honest note: reporting is about the record and about the next target. Recovery of money already sent through wires, gift cards, or cryptocurrency is difficult, and anyone who contacts you offering to recover it for a fee is running the follow-up scam. For what the underlying scheme looks like from the start, see how romance scams typically unfold.