In brief. A romance scam is a long-running online fraud in which the perpetrator builds a fictitious romantic relationship with the victim — typically through a dating app, social network or messaging platform — to obtain money over time. Victims are often emotionally vulnerable adults and cumulative losses can become substantial. From a legal standpoint, in Italy the conduct falls within Article 640 of the Criminal Code (truffa) and, where the perpetrator interferes with payment systems, Article 640-ter (frode informatica).

At a glance

  • A romance scam is a long-running fraud based on a fictitious romantic bond, qualified in Italy as truffa (art. 640 of the Italian Criminal Code).
  • Victims are often persuaded over months and cumulative losses can reach six or seven figures.
  • The complaint (querela) must be filed within three months from the moment the victim becomes aware of the fraud.
  • Recovery depends on speed: bank recall of SEPA transfers within 24-48 hours, exchange freeze for crypto, asset tracing for offshore accounts.
  • Cross-border cases require mutual legal assistance requests and coordination with foreign counsel.

Definition: what is a romance scam under Italian law

A romance scam is a fraudulent scheme in which the perpetrator creates a fake romantic relationship to induce the victim to transfer money. Under Italian law, the conduct is classified as truffa under Article 640 of the Criminal Code: the perpetrator uses artifices or deceit (the fake identity and storyline), induces the victim into error and obtains an unjust profit causing the victim a financial loss. Where the perpetrator also intervenes on the victim’s payment systems — for instance taking over a home banking account — the additional offence of frode informatica (Article 640-ter) applies.

  • Article 640 of the Italian Criminal Code — fraud (truffa).
  • Article 640, paragraph 2 — aggravating circumstances, including the fear of an imaginary danger and, since 2024, fraud committed remotely with IT tools that hinder identification (no. 2-ter).
  • Article 640, following paragraph (added by Decree-Law 48/2025) — fraud taking advantage of circumstances, including age, that hinder the victim’s defence: two to six years’ imprisonment, prosecuted ex officio.
  • Article 640-ter — computer fraud (frode informatica).
  • Article 494 — identity substitution (sostituzione di persona).
  • Article 124 of the Italian Criminal Code — three-month limit to file a criminal complaint.
  • Article 321 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure — preventive seizure of the proceeds.
  • EU Regulation 260/2012 (SEPA framework) and the SEPA Credit Transfer rulebook — recall of transfers.
  • D.Lgs. 11/2010 (PSD2 implementation in Italy) — bank liability for unauthorised payment operations.
  • Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (Law 48/2008).

How romance scams typically unfold

The patterns recur with limited variation.

Stage 1 — Approach. The perpetrator opens contact on a dating app, social network or messaging service. The profile is plausible but generic; the photo is often stolen from a real person. First conversations are warm and frequent.

Stage 2 — Trust building. Over weeks or months the scammer builds emotional intimacy. There are excuses to avoid video calls or in-person meetings (work abroad, military deployment, oil-rig assignments, business travel). Communication moves to a private channel.

Stage 3 — The first request. A “small” emergency triggers the first transfer: a stuck shipment, a customs fee, a medical bill, a relative in difficulty. The amount is modest enough to feel manageable.

Stage 4 — Escalation. Once a transfer is made, requests escalate: investment opportunities, inheritance unlocks, frozen bank accounts requiring fees, surgical interventions. The scammer engineers a sense of momentum that makes withdrawal feel costly.

Stage 5 — The “investment” pivot. Many romance scams now blend into investment scams: the scammer introduces a “successful” trading platform — a crypto exchange or a forex broker — and walks the victim through fake dashboards showing growing profits.

Stage 6 — Disappearance. When the victim begins to doubt or runs out of funds, the scammer disappears, blocks contacts and moves the proceeds through layers of accounts or crypto wallets.

Red flags to recognise a romance scam

  • The person avoids video calls consistently or offers low-quality, brief footage.
  • Reverse image search of the profile picture returns matches under different names.
  • The story is geographically distant and involves obstacles to meeting in person.
  • Requests for money are framed as emergencies.
  • Payments are requested via untraceable channels: crypto, gift cards, money orders, transfers to accounts in different jurisdictions.
  • The relationship moves to investment topics, with reassurances about a “guaranteed” platform.

What to do if you are a victim

  1. Stop the payments. Do not send anything further, even to “unblock” what was already sent — this is a recurring secondary fraud (recovery scam).
  2. Preserve evidence: full conversation exports, profile screenshots with URLs and timestamps, payment records (IBAN, transaction reference numbers, crypto wallet addresses and transaction hashes), bank statements.
  3. Contact your bank immediately. SEPA transfer recall is effective within 24-48 hours. For card payments, request chargeback.
  4. File a criminal complaint with the Polizia Postale (Italian Postal Police) under articles 640 and 640-ter of the Criminal Code, within three months from the moment you understood the scheme.
  5. Engage a lawyer for cases with significant amounts or cross-border elements. ILA coordinates bank action, criminal complaint, asset tracing and international cooperation.
  6. Do not engage with “recovery agents” who contact you spontaneously promising to retrieve your funds for an upfront fee — they are almost always a follow-up scam.

Case examples

(Illustrative examples: they do not refer to specific proceedings.)

Case 1 — Romance scam with investment pivot. A retired victim transfers large sums over twelve months to a perpetrator posing as an offshore engineer, who eventually introduces a fake trading platform. The criminal complaint can be accompanied by a request for preventive seizure of a wallet identified at a centralised exchange, with the support of counsel in the exchange’s jurisdiction; any freeze is often partial.

Case 2 — Cross-border SEPA recall. A victim transfers funds via SEPA to an IBAN in another EU member state. If the bank recall is activated before the funds are moved on, part or all of the sum may be returned; the criminal complaint can then lead to the identification of the account holder, often a “money mule” within a broader network.

FAQ

Is a romance scam a specific criminal offence in Italy? No, it is not a standalone offence. It is prosecuted under Article 640 of the Italian Criminal Code (fraud — truffa) and, where applicable, Article 640-ter (computer fraud) and Article 494 (identity substitution).

Can I recover money sent to a romance scammer? Recovery depends on the payment channel and speed. SEPA transfers can be recalled within 24-48 hours. Crypto sent to a centralised exchange can be frozen following a preventive seizure order. Self-custody crypto and money orders are much harder to recover.

Do I have to identify the perpetrator before filing a complaint? No. You file against persons unknown (“ignoti”). Identification is part of the investigation, supported by the digital evidence you provide.

What is the limitation period for filing a complaint? Three months from the moment you understood the fraud (Article 124 of the Italian Criminal Code). A few aggravated forms (for example taking advantage of the victim’s age or vulnerability) are prosecuted ex officio, but the remote-fraud aggravation still requires a complaint: file within three months in any case.

Should I respond to a “recovery agent” contacting me online? No. Spontaneous contacts from “recovery agents” or “asset retrieval companies” are almost always a secondary scam targeting prior victims. Genuine recovery is handled by lawyers and competent authorities.

When to contact the firm

If you have been a victim of a romance scam — especially if amounts are significant or transfers crossed borders — contact the firm without delay. The first 24-48 hours are decisive for bank recall; the three-month complaint deadline is binding.

Request a confidential consultation — response within one hour. 24/7 emergency line available.