Romance Scams: Red Flags and Evidence Checklist (South Africa)

Romance scams are one of the fastest-growing forms of cybercrime in South Africa. As a professional investigator at PI INVESTIGATOR, we have seen firsthand how sophisticated criminals manipulate trust, emotions, and vulnerability to exploit victims financially and psychologically. These scams affect individuals across South Africa and the entire country — and no one is immune.

Victims are often older women—particularly those who are widowed or divorced—seeking companionship later in life. However, it is important to note that romance scams can affect anyone, regardless of age or background.

Many of these scams originate on dating platforms such as Tinder and similar sites, where criminals actively create fake profiles to target potential victims. These platforms can become a “hunting ground” for scammers who exploit trust and emotional vulnerability.

More than 80% of profiles on unregulated dating websites are scammers.

There is growing concern that dating platforms should strengthen their verification and monitoring systems. Although most companies do implement security measures, the persistence of fake profiles highlights the need for more robust enforcement, identity verification, and proactive fraud detection to better protect users from ongoing exploitation.

This comprehensive guide will help you:

• Identify romance scam red flags
• Understand how scammers operate
• Learn what evidence to preserve
• Take immediate action if you’ve been targeted
• Prevent future scams

We also explain how PI INVESTIGATOR assists victims with court-ready evidence and professional investigations.