Love Scams: How These Scammers Target Filipina Victims

This year, we’ve heard of someone who was targeted by these seemingly charming and wealthy “AFAMs,” a term many Filipinas are familiar with and can easily fall for. Chatting with these scammers and believing the promises they make about visiting the Philippines often feels like a dream come true—almost like a fairytale. However, behind these empty promises lies a dark motive: to extort money from their victims. Worse, they may resort to blackmail, threatening to share explicit photos unless they’re paid.

In this blog, I’ll explain how scammers choose their victims and how they trap them. I’ll also provide tips on spotting these scammers and confronting them.

How These Scammers Operate

This first section explains how love scammers work and the tactics they use. By understanding their methods, you’ll be better equipped to protect yourself when searching for love online.

Platforms Scammers Use

Love scammers operate across multiple platforms—from dating apps to Facebook and WhatsApp. They’re almost everywhere. The more platforms they use, the better their chances of finding someone desperate enough to fall for their scheme. They often target individuals who dream of becoming a trophy wife or finding a love story similar to a Filipino telenovela. However, let’s be realistic—true love doesn’t usually come from someone who claims they’re rich, generous, and ready to marry you after just a few chats.

How Scammers Choose Their Victims

Love scammers are cunning, and I’ll give them credit for that. Like predators in the wild, they carefully select their prey. Once they’ve chosen a target, their conversations will make you feel like you’ve finally found “the one.” But in reality, these scammers are simply waiting for the right time to reveal their true intentions.

Here are the traits these scammers usually look for in a victim:

• Middle-aged or older Filipinas, around 45-60 years old.
• A stable job or the financial capacity to spend money.
• A strong desire to find love.
• A marital status that’s single, separated, widowed, or otherwise complicated.

If you fit this profile, you could become a magnet for love scammers looking to exploit your trust and finances.

Sweet-Talking and Gaining Trust

The first goal of these scammers is to gain your trust, and the second is to make you fall in love or become emotionally attached. Is love really blind? Perhaps, but it’s essential to open your eyes to the possibility that the person you’re talking to may not be who they claim to be. Love is a powerful tool that scammers use to deceive people.

Common Fake Occupations

Scammers often introduce themselves as professionals in glamorous fields, such as working on a cruise ship or in aviation. This creates an image of wealth and success. To reinforce this lie, they send photos showing them “at work” to make their claims seem credible.

Fighting Back Against Love Scammers

If you’ve made it this far, you’re likely ready to fight back against these scammers. Here are some basic steps you can take to protect yourself and expose their schemes:

Ask for a Video Call or a Video With Your Name Written

Always request a video call. Scammers typically avoid video calls because the person behind the messages is not the person in the photos. If they consistently refuse your request with excuses about being “busy,” it’s a red flag. On the other hand, you may also ask for a video with your name written on it. Just make sure it doesn’t look edited!

Use Google Lens to Search Similar Images

Since these love scammers love sending their photos at work, try to save the image and search for it using Google Lens. If a similar photo came out, that’s a scam.

Here’s how you can do it:

Avoid Sending Explicit Photos

Another thing you must not do is sending explicit photos to your prince charming. Don’t do that, or you will get blackmailed later for money in exchange of not posting your photos on social media.

Don’t Send Money

Some scammers will create situations where they need immediate money, and one of the people they can ask for help is you. Suspicious, isn’t it? With their status and perhaps capable network, they chose to ask for money from you? That should get you thinking.

When you learn how to identify these love scammers, you will also learn how to fight back. Don’t let them win. If you’re wondering who is behind these scammers, I’m not sure either. I don’t also want to point fingers at anybody since we don’t have strong evidence for that. The truth is that it could be anyone. What matters is that you don’t give in.

How Scammers Trap You

In case you’re still chatting with them or unsure whether someone you’re chatting with is a scammer, here’s how they operate:

• They may claim their luggage, filled with cash, is being held at immigration, and a supposed official will ask you to deposit money for their release. Again, don’t do it.
• Some scammers may also send you a package containing large amounts of “cash.” They do this by sending you a link and a code that can be used to track the alleged package. While it does really look legit, the website is fake, so is the code and the package that these scammers obtained from Google.

Remember that these love scammers are creative and they operate as a group, so when one way closes, another one opens. Just always remember the basics of fighting back.

Another point is that some of these scammers genuinely try to make their Filipina victim fall in love with them. But please think: after just a few weeks of talking, they’re already calling you “wife” and claiming they’ll come to the Philippines to tie the knot. Again, anything that’s too good to be true is 99% a scam. There’s almost no easy thing in the world.

Conclusion

Amid these waters of love scamming Filipinas is the thought of “but what if?” I know that Filipinas aren’t so shallow as to immediately believe someone they’re just talking to online. Although there may be doubts, the hope that it’s real—the chance to meet the love of their life and the dream of a better future—is often too strong. That’s why hope can sometimes ruin lives and leave people scammed out of their hard-earned money. So, always be smart next time.