In fact, these tricks are not new, scammers create fake identities to establish online relationships with unsuspecting victims. According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2021 alone, users lost more than half a billion dollars to romance scams.
But scammers continue to do so. Meta said that in 2025 alone, it took down more than 116,000 accounts and pages associated with romance scams on Facebook and Instagram. In 2024, that number was more than 408,000.
According to Meta, scammers often impersonate celebrities claiming to be “looking for love” and then actively chat with victims via Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other messaging platforms.
Once trust has been established, the scammer will attempt to ask the victim to send gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other forms of payment.
Meta has taken steps to combat these scams. Last year, the company announced it would be bringing back facial recognition technology to tackle celebrity impersonation.
Experts warn that artificial intelligence (AI) is making it easier than ever to create fake identities. “In just the last three or four months, there have been a number of free, accessible, easy-to-use tools that allow bad actors to dynamically change their faces in real time during video calls,” said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security.
In addition, deepfake technology also helps create fake tools that can make calls, using a cloned voice without direct human involvement. This makes scams more sophisticated and harder to detect than ever.
