As romance scams continue to surge across Canada, fraudsters in 2026 are using more sophisticated tactics to bilk Canadians out of thousands of dollars.
Around Valentine’s Day, scammers work to take advantage of the romantic season, said Amisha Parikh, vice-president of security solutions at Mastercard Canada.
From AI chatbots trained on their target’s interests to investment scam-style grooming, these online relationship frauds leave a trail of broken hearts and shattered finances.
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The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) has seen a rise in an investment-romance scam hybrid, called “pig butchering,” that’s increasingly targeting Canadians.
What is ‘pig butchering’? ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Pig butchering is a scheme that involves scammers taking a long-term approach to build trust, Parikh said.
Fraudsters may cultivate an online relationship over weeks or months before luring victims into what appears to be a legitimate investment opportunity. The term comes from the practice of fattening up pigs before getting slaughtered.
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According to the CAFC, the long-term scam starts off with fraudsters contacting targets on dating apps or social media. The scammers will then develop a relationship and slowly gain the person’s trust. The scammer, claiming to be a cryptocurrency investor, will eventually introduce the target to an investment opportunity.
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To gain the victim’s trust, the scammer may let their target cash out some of their initial investment returns to convince the person to invest more money. The scammer will also pretend to coach the victim to invest more on a fraudulent crypto platform.
In some cases, Parikh said they may even show fake returns on screen to build credibility. But once the larger amount has been invested, the whole thing crumbles and victims are out thousands of dollars.
Canadians lose millions to romance scams each year
A global survey conducted for Mastercard found 29 per cent of Canadians reported experiencing romance or dating scams.
“The reality is romance scams are far more common than many Canadians realize,” Parikh said.
According to CAFC’s latest figures, Canadians lost more than $54 million to romance fraud from January 2025 to September 2025 alone. In 2024, the total dollar loss to this type of scam reached $58.4 million.
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However, these figures don’t reflect all incidents since some victims don’t report to authorities.
“Nearly two-thirds (of those surveyed) say they would feel ashamed or embarrassed to speak up if they were impacted,” Parikh shared.
“Stigma is a huge barrier to our collective defence and what allows these scams to continue.”
Experts say the spike is fuelled by AI chatbots and deepfakes.
AI chatbots trained on romance novels, victim’s interests
Scammers are reportedly using AI-generated profiles on dating apps to lure victims, along with chatbots trained on the target’s interests and romance novels to woo victims.
Canadian AI and cybersecurity expert Abbas Yazdinejad, assistant professor in cybersecurity at the University of Regina, said AI tools are being used to generate highly personalized messages, mimic emotions and even adjust the tone of the online conversation depending on how the interaction is going.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW News Romance scam chatbots are getting trained on romantic novels — How to spot the telltale signs your perfect lover is an AI bot
AI and cybersecurity expert Abbas Yazdinejad explains how AI models are now being trained on
Yazdinejad, who previously worked as a post-doc researcher at the University of Toronto’s AI lab, said some AI models are trained on romantic novels, which allows it to write deeply emotional messages around the clock.
“It’s a machine working 24-7,” he said.
AI models trained on romance stories learn pacing, writing styles and emotional beats, Yazdinejad said. Then, the AI model is made to scrape the target’s social media posts to study the person’s interests, thereby creating what seems to be a perfect online lover.
Deepfakes in romance scams
Romance scammers are also now using face-swapping technology in video chats. According to cybersecurity company McAfee, cons entirely transform their looks and voices with readily available AI tools, allowing them to pretend to be someone else in real time by making the AI tool mirror every expression they make.
In recent months, there have been reports of victims losing thousands of dollars to romance scammers who used deepfake technology to pretend to be a celebrity.
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McAfee said most deepfake tools still have a hard time tracking body movement, so scammers often hold their heads steady and avoid turning around during a video chat. Sudden movements, standing up, moving around, turning sideways or even placing their hands on their face can ruin the deepfake.
How to spot red flags in online dating
The Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity’s Get Cyber Safe campaign has a list of red flags to spot romance scams, including:
Love bombing
This is a tactic used to quickly build trust by overwhelming the target with affection and attention. The agency advises online daters to look out for excessive flattery, attention and compliments up front, declaration of love merely days after meeting, and quickly making future plans about life together.
Making excuses to never meet
The person might always be too busy, or always have an excuse to never meet. They may also set up an in-person meeting, but cancel it at the last minute due to an emergency. Also be on the lookout for someone who refuses to do videocalls — but remember, a video call can also be faked using deepfake technology.
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They may open up about a crisis or something urgent. Scammers often use dramatic emergencies to try to get sympathy, like a sickness with medical bills, travel emergencies or other urgent situations that need money right away. They may tell targets that only they can help.
Requests for money
After some time and gaining the target’s trust, romance scammers may start asking for favours, money or presents. They may pressure or guilt the person into sending money or use this tactic to request money before meeting in person.
Fishing for personal details
The agency also reminds people to watch out for requests for private photos or videos, which some scammers later use to extort the victim (sextortion). Also be wary of those asking questions about social insurance numbers, passwords or banking information.
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