If you've been the victim of a scam, here are some useful tips and resources to help.

Cease Communication - If you think you are the victim of a romance scam the first thing you need to do is cease communication with the scammer. Make sure to block the scammer on email, phone, and instant messaging accounts if applicable.

Don't Delete Conversations- Make sure to keep a record of all communications you've had with the scammer. Whatever you do, don't delete them because they will come in handy later.

Report to Local Police- If you've been scammed out of money, the first thing you should do is report it to the local police. Even though a lot of romance scams reported to the police may seem to go unsolved, it helps to have the complaint on record as proof of date and time it happened.

Report to Money Services Company- If you lost money using a money service like Western Union or Moneygram you should also contact them to file a fraud report. Their fraud hotline numbers are:

Western Union: 1-800-448-1492

Moneygram: 1-800-926-9400

Report to the F.B.I- The F.B.I's Internet Crime Complaint Center(Ic3) is where you can reprot any type of internet crime. They can best process your complaint if you provide as much information as possible. You can make complaints at:

Report to the FTC- The Federal Trade Commission has an online complaint assistant to help victims report scams. The FTC's online complaint assistant is straightforward and easy to use. The FTC doesn't actually solve complaints. Instead, it shares the report with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. You can find the complaint assistant at:

Report to NCL- The National Consumers League has a website where you can file a complaint for any type of fraud that will be shared with over ninety law enforcement agencies. They also provide victims with counseling and education. You can reach their website here:

Join a Support Group- One of the reasons these scams keep occuring is because so many victims are embarrassed to speak out about what happened to them. Many find the comfort they need by partaking in a romance scam support group. There are many support groups to choose from, but here are a few favorites:

Scam-Baiting- If a little revenge is what is needed to cope with being scammed, then scam-baiting might be the answer. According to Wikipedia, scam-baiting is a form of internet vigilantism. It is where a person poses as a victim to waste a scammers time and resources. Scam-baiters also obtain information that is handed over to law enforcement all the while publicly exposing the scammer. However, caution should be taken when scam-baiting since it has it's own dangers. There are several scam-baiting sites, but here are a couple of the larger ones:

If You Have Any Questions Please Contact Us