Romance Baiting: When ‘We’ Becomes an Investment Strategy

The old romance scam asked for money — a medical bill, a plane ticket. The modern version is subtler and far more expensive: the partner never asks for a cent. They just help you invest in your shared future, on a platform they happen to know well.

The script

1. Weeks of genuine-feeling attention. Good morning messages. Real conversations. Photos, voice notes, sometimes video calls.
2. Their life displays quiet success — travel, gifts — attributed to smart investing.
3. You express interest (this is engineered to feel like your idea). They walk you through “the platform my family uses”.
4. Small deposit, quick visible gains, sometimes a successful test withdrawal.
5. Then the talk turns to the house, the wedding, the future — funded by going bigger, together.

The tells that survive even good acting

• The platform is non-negotiable. Suggest your own bank or a major exchange and watch the resistance.
• The relationship stays just out of reach. Meetings get cancelled; the video is short and scripted.
• Urgency arrives on schedule. A “limited institutional round”, a “tax deadline” — pressure always lands right after you mention available funds.

One quiet check

You do not have to accuse anyone. Just take the platform name they gave you and run it through the registry privately. If it comes back flagged, you have your answer about both the platform and the partner — and if money has already moved, check the SARFund case registry and report what happened. The shame belongs to the operators, never the target.