Is It A Scam? Romance Scam Diagnostic

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Your answers are processed in your browser. Only you see any identifying information about you. Nothing about you, or about the person you are assessing, is stored.

De-identified data supports research

With your permission and your identity removed, your de-identified answers are sent to the SCARS Institute for scientific research only. Data is never shared with third parties.

Save your work and return later

You have the option to save your work and return later as you wish. Each finished section is saved to the SCARS Institute under a resume code, without your identity. Your resume code is the only way to bring your answers back, so keep it somewhere safe and treat it like a password.

The SCARS Institute provides this diagnostic to help you find out whether an online or long-distance romantic relationship shows the recognized patterns of romance fraud: impersonation, emotional manipulation, financial exploitation, identity theft, or organized crime. You can save your result to share with a trusted person, your bank, or law enforcement.

I give my consent for my fully de-identified assessment data to be used for research purposes only. I understand that all personal identifiers have been removed from my responses, this information will not be shared with any third parties, and my participation is completely voluntary.

Start or Continue

Twenty-five Yes-or-No questions in five sections. Most people finish in ten minutes. If you need to stop, your answers are saved at the end of each section under a resume code.

Start the diagnostic

You will receive a resume code so you can stop and return on any device.

Enter a resume code

Pick up where you stopped, or bring back a finished result from the past 90 days.

Before You Begin

This diagnostic checks whether an online or long-distance romantic relationship contains the recognized patterns of romance fraud. It looks at the complete pattern, not one odd behavior. A real person travels, has emergencies, and loses a connection now and then. A scammer combines emotional influence, unverifiable claims, evasion, money requests, secrecy, and resistance to independent checking.

Answer alone. Do not let the person you are assessing supply explanations, evidence, or help while you answer. That person has every reason to steer your answers.

Answer Yes when the behavior has happened, even if the person gave a believable explanation.
Answer No only when the behavior has not happened, or when you verified the facts yourself through a source the person does not control.

The result is a Scam Risk Index from 0% to 100%. It measures the concentration and severity of recognized scam indicators. It does not measure how sincere the person sounds or how strong the relationship feels.

Please Note. This diagnostic was developed by the SCARS Institute from its work with tens of thousands of romance scam victims. It is a crime-detection screening tool, not a psychological assessment and not legal advice. A high score identifies a probable crime in progress. A low score does not prove that anyone is safe.

Why this matters

Answer Yes or No to continue

v2

Romance Scam

— A romance scam is a relationship-based confidence crime in which an offender creates a false or stolen identity, develops emotional attachment, and exploits the resulting trust for money, property, information, account access, criminal assistance, or another benefit. The offender commonly uses frequent communication, rapid declarations of love, emotional mirroring, future promises, fabricated vulnerability, and carefully timed crises while avoiding ordinary independent verification and repeatedly preventing an in-person meeting. Financial requests frequently involve medical emergencies, travel expenses, business problems, customs charges, legal difficulties, military restrictions, family needs, investments, gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or requests to receive and forward money, and the emotional relationship makes each request appear connected to a shared future rather than a criminal scheme. The victim’s attachment remains psychologically real even though the identity and circumstances were manufactured, because the crime targets normal human capacities for trust, empathy, hope, loyalty, and love rather than any defect in intelligence or character.

— Relationship Fraud

2 Comments

Carole Frey September 29, 2026 at 3:15 pm - Reply

I was blinded by such clever manipulation
- SCARS Institute Editorial Team September 29, 2026 at 5:37 pm - Reply
  
  Carole, as you move forward with your recovery, you will learn how this all works. It was not your fault. Professional, expert criminals victimized you.

IS IT A SCAM?