Romance fraud risk test
Is this a romance scam
This test gathers twelve signs that recur in romance-fraud cases handled by the Finnish police and, from how many of them match, tells you three things: whether the risk is low, elevated or high, and what to do next. It does not and cannot tell you whether a particular person is a scammer — no single sign proves anything, and what counts here is the number of matches. Your answers are calculated in your browser and are not sent anywhere.
Tick the points that apply. Your answers are not stored.
This is a self-assessment tool, not evidence. The test does not tell you whether a particular person is a scammer.
What the test does and does not do
It counts how many of the twelve signs match your situation and, from that count, gives a risk band and concrete next steps.
It passes no verdict on anyone. The test does not say "this person is a scammer" and could not: no single sign proves anything, and an honest person can also have a bad camera and a job abroad.
There are three risk bands, not five. Five would suggest a precision that is not there: this is a count of signs, not a measurement.
Colour is never the only carrier of meaning — each band is labelled in words as well. That keeps the result readable when colours are hard to tell apart.
And the test stores nothing. The calculation runs in your browser, nothing is sent to a server, and the site has no registration. The reason is not modesty: the answers describe your personal situation in a relationship, and not collecting such data is the surest way of not mishandling it.
The five-minute check before the test
Two checks take about five minutes between them, and they tell you more than this whole list put together. They are worth doing first, and if either one fails, the test is no longer needed.
The first is a reverse image search. Put the profile photo into a search engine and see whether the same picture appears elsewhere under a different name or in a different country. A stolen modelling shot usually turns up straight away. The search proves nothing on its own, but a hit elsewhere is so strong a marker that there is no point guessing at the rest afterwards.
The second is an unannounced video call. Not a time agreed for tomorrow but a call right now, in the middle of the conversation. A profile running on stolen photos cannot answer it, because the pictures are of somebody else. An excuse arrives every time — a broken camera, a poor connection, busy at work — and the run of excuses is itself the answer.
If both checks pass, the result of the test below can be read more calmly. If either fails, the main rule holds whatever the score: do not send money. The pattern is worked through stage by stage on the page how a romance scam develops from here.
Where the signs come from
All twelve come from material published by the police and Victim Support Finland, not from our own guesswork.
The police describe romance fraud in three phases: closeness, crisis and money. The signs in the test map onto those phases, which is why several simultaneous matches usually mean the pattern has progressed further.
Some signs concern how you met: no mutual acquaintances, a quick move to a messaging app, declarations of feeling before any meeting. Some concern the story: a job from a short list, always abroad; a video call that never works; a meeting that fell through. And some concern money: a sudden illness or legal problem, funds that are "frozen", a request for money, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
The pattern and its phases are covered in full on how romance fraud is built, and checking a profile separately on nine signs of a fake profile.
How to read the result
Three bands, each with its own instruction.
Low risk means no clear warning signs came up. That is not a guarantee but an indication that the recognisable pattern is not visible. Trust your own read and meet in a public place.
Elevated risk means some of the signs match. What matters most here is not sending money, suggesting a video call, and telling someone close to you about the situation. An outsider almost always spots the pattern faster than the person inside it.
High risk means several signs match at once. Do not send money. If you have already paid, call your bank first and file a police report afterwards — in that order, because the bank may still stop the payment and the police cannot.
And the rule that holds at every band: money is never sent to a person you have not met face to face, under any circumstances. That decision is best made in advance, not at the moment someone writes to you from a hospital.
Who to contact in Finland
The order is the same whatever result you got.
If money has already been transferred, call your own bank immediately. This is the most urgent step and it is counted in hours.
A police report can be filed online at poliisi.fi. The service runs around the clock except between 22.45 and 06.00. It is worth filing even when no money was lost: cases are built from individual episodes, and yours may be the missing one.
Victim Support Finland offers support on 116 006, free of charge. You can call even when formally nothing has happened but the situation weighs on you.
If the situation is unfolding now and you are being threatened, call 112.
Save the messages and screenshots of the profile before the account disappears — it is usually deleted as soon as the scheme is exposed.
Frequently asked
Will the test tell me whether the person I am talking to is a scammer?
It will not and cannot. The test counts how many of twelve known signs match your situation and gives a risk band from that count. No single sign proves anything: an honest person can also have a bad camera and a job abroad. This is a self-assessment, not evidence.
Are my answers stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. There is no registration and no email address is asked for. Refresh the page and your ticks are gone.
How many matches is too many?
Three or more is a reason to stop. The test sorts the result into three bands: low, elevated and high risk. There are not five bands, because five would suggest a precision that counting signs does not have.
Where are the signs taken from?
From material published by the police and Victim Support Finland. The police describe romance fraud in three phases — closeness, crisis and money — and the signs in the test map onto those phases. That is why several simultaneous matches usually mean the pattern has progressed further.
I got a high-risk result. What do I do first?
Do not send money. If you have already paid, call your own bank before filing a police report: the bank may still stop the payment, the police cannot. Save the messages and screenshots of the profile, since the account is usually deleted as soon as the scheme is exposed. Victim Support Finland offers help on 116 006, free of charge.
Are there affiliate links on this page?
Not one, and there are none anywhere in the safety section. That is written into the code rather than promised: the page carries a monetisation flag, and when it is off the template does not render the button at all. Someone filling in this test is not a person it would be decent to sell anything to.
Sources
- Police: Rakkaushuijaus — how it usually starts — the three phases and the signs
- Police: filing a report
- Victim Support Finland (RIKU) — support for victims, 116 006
- Eastern Finland Police: 2025 figures — 15% of online fraud
- Traficom: what to do if you have been defrauded
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