At FindASpy headquarters, Tracer was trying to enjoy his morning coffee when the water cooler let out one long sputtering groan before dispensing anything.
Every single time.
It sounded like the machine was clearing its throat to make an announcement nobody had asked to hear.
Tracer stared at it, lifted his French press, and said, “If the water cooler has something important to add, it can wait until after caffeine.”
Then the phone rang.
The caller was a worried grandmother. Her daughter, a widow in her sixties, had been talking online with a man for several months. He was kind. He remembered small details. He sent flowers. He called every night at exactly the same time.
Then he asked about her savings.
He said they needed to understand their finances so they could “plan a future together.”
The grandmother had read about romance scams. Her stomach tightened. She asked Tracer the question many families eventually face:
“Can you find out who he really is before she gives him everything?”
Tracer listened carefully. He did not mock the daughter. He did not dismiss the relationship. He explained that facts matter most when emotions are moving quickly.
The family ordered a confidential check.
The report did not need to reveal every detail to make a difference. Several inconsistencies were enough to interrupt the rush toward trust:
The family had a difficult conversation. It was not easy. But the daughter stopped sending money, stopped sharing financial information, and gained time to think clearly.
That pause may have protected her future.
According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, Americans reported $929,287,469 in losses to confidence and romance fraud across 23,159 complaints in 2025. Reported losses increased by 38% compared with 2024.
Adults aged 60 and older accounted for approximately 63% of the reported romance-fraud losses, representing about $584 million across 10,188 complaints.
Florida families saw a serious impact. Florida seniors reported approximately $52.1 million in romance-scam losses in 2025, a 43% increase from the previous year. Florida ranked near the top nationally for reported senior romance losses.
These numbers represent reported complaints. Many people never report because they feel embarrassed, fear family judgment, or believe the relationship was real. The actual harm is likely larger.
The FTC also reports that nearly 60% of romance scams that resulted in financial loss began on social media, rather than on a traditional dating application.
The technology has changed, too. The FBI documented 626 confidence and romance complaints with an identified artificial-intelligence component in 2025, involving more than $19 million in reported losses.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is software that creates or imitates human content. A scammer uses it to produce convincing photographs, write messages, clone a voice, or create a synthetic video. A reverse-image search may fail when the face never belonged to a real person in the first place.
Catfishing means creating a false identity to deceive someone online. The person may use another individual’s photographs, an invented name, a stolen biography, or a completely manufactured life story.
Impersonation is slightly different. The scammer pretends to be a real person, professional, military member, celebrity, business owner, or romantic interest.
The modern version may include several layers:
The stolen-photo profile
A scammer copies photographs from a real person’s social-media account and builds a new identity around them.
The AI-generated face
The photograph looks realistic, but the person does not exist. There may be small clues, but a reverse-image search will not find a source because the image was created by software.
The cloned voice
A scammer collects a short voice recording from a public video or social-media post. Software then produces speech that sounds like the supposed person.
The synthetic video call
A deepfake is altered or generated video that imitates a real face. The face may move and speak on a video call, but the person on screen is not necessarily the person behind the account.
The slow trust campaign
The scammer does not always ask for money immediately. The relationship develops over weeks or months. Daily messages create routine. Routine creates familiarity. Familiarity begins to feel like proof.
The emergency
A sick relative, frozen account, stranded business trip, legal problem, medical bill, or lost passport suddenly appears.
The financial escalation
The request starts small. Then it moves to gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or an “investment opportunity.” In an investment romance scam, the fake partner coaches the victim into moving money through a fraudulent platform.
The goal remains the same: obtain money, personal information, account access, or identity documents. The tools now make the deception sound and look more real.
Older adults often have savings, retirement funds, property, or established credit. That does not mean they are gullible. It means scammers understand where financial resources may exist.
Many older adults also experienced relationships in which trust developed through face-to-face contact. Online communication removes physical cues while allowing a scammer to create constant emotional contact.
Working families face a different pressure. They may be managing jobs, children, aging parents, bills, and long-distance relationships at the same time. A persuasive person can use urgency to bypass careful thinking:
A trusted relationship should survive a pause, an independent verification, and a conversation with family. A scam depends on speed, secrecy, and emotional pressure.
The grandmother in our opening story recognized the warning sign when the nightly calls became financial conversations.
That is the moment to stop and verify.
Other recognition points include:
Do not send more money to test the relationship. Do not confront the person alone if you believe the situation may become threatening. Save messages, photographs, phone numbers, email addresses, payment records, and profile links.
FindASpy’s Check Your Mate Before You Date service is for anyone who has met someone online, through an app, on social media, or through a friend and wants facts before emotional attachment becomes difficult to manage.
It is also for concerned mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and best friends who want to help someone they love.
The service provides a confidential relationship-intelligence report reviewed by real people. Depending on the available information, the investigation may examine:
The person being checked is not notified. The requester’s identity and case details remain confidential. The team works with the requester and does not communicate with others about the case.
Reports are delivered through a secure, password-protected process. The report is available for 30 days and is not downloadable or printable, which helps protect the privacy of both parties. The charge is handled discreetly under a third-party company name so the nature of the service remains private.
The limited offer is currently $295.00, regularly $400.00, and the page states that the offer is expiring soon. If the messages are becoming more urgent, do not wait for another emotional request.
Call Patricia at 321-342-0040 to speak with a real person about starting a confidential check. You may also begin directly through the service page.
A check examines available public records and online clues for personal peace of mind. It is not a guarantee, and it is not a consumer report for employment, credit, insurance, housing, or any other decision regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Slow down the financial conversation.
Do not send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, account credentials, or identity documents because someone demands immediate action.
Verify outside the relationship.
Use a separate phone number, official website, public record, or trusted family member. Do not rely only on contact information supplied by the online connection.
Ask for independent proof.
A photograph, voice call, or video call is not complete identity verification. AI can imitate all three.
Preserve evidence.
Save screenshots, usernames, profile links, phone numbers, emails, payment receipts, and message timelines. Do not edit the original files.
Act quickly after a payment.
Contact the bank, card issuer, wire service, or cryptocurrency exchange immediately. Report the incident to local law enforcement, the platform involved, and the FBI’s IC3 system. Tell someone you trust.
A loving relationship does not require secrecy, rushed payments, or unverified financial decisions.
The safest time to check is before the heart, money, and identity become deeply connected.
Before your next online conversation:
In the next Coffee Time with Tracer, we will examine how scammers use cloned voices and urgent phone calls to imitate family members, employers, and financial institutions: and what to do before answering the request.
Have you ever encountered an online connection that seemed too good to be true? Did the person ask for secrecy, money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or personal information?
Tell us what State you are from and share the warning sign that made you pause. Tracer reads all posts.
If you have discovered a hidden gadget or suspicious device, upload it for the community by clicking here.
Guidance only. If you are in immediate danger, if a crime is in progress, or if your safety is at risk, stop reading and call 911.
This article is for general educational information and personal safety awareness. FindASpy does not make a legal finding that a person is fraudulent, dangerous, or guilty based solely on an online profile, public record, photograph, or investigative report.
Information in a Check Your Mate report comes from available public records, third-party data sources, and online clues. Records may be incomplete, outdated, incorrectly matched, or unavailable. The service does not access private emails, bank accounts, medical records, passwords, or private communications. FindASpy does not hack accounts, impersonate individuals, or contact the subject on the requester’s behalf.
Do not use the service or any report for stalking, harassment, revenge, discrimination, employment, credit, insurance, housing, tenant screening, or another purpose requiring compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Independently verify important information and consult law enforcement or a qualified attorney when appropriate.
Sterling Reed, “Tracer,” writes about privacy, surveillance awareness, digital safety, and practical investigative protection for FindASpy.com. His goal is simple: help families replace fear and guesswork with awareness, knowledge, and a safer next step.
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Tracer shares cybersecurity stories, scam alerts, privacy tips, and investigative insights. Pull up a chair, share your experience, and help shape tomorrow’s discussion.