Multiple Faces Detected
May 26th, 2026
Romance scams don’t always end after a few weeks. Some years are long enough that the victim has reorganized their entire life around a person who doesn’t exist. Jodi’s story is one of the most striking cases Social Catfish has investigated: seven years, tens of thousands of dollars, and a relationship she genuinely believed was leading to marriage. Here’s how it happened, what the warning signs were, and how Social Catfish uncovered the truth.
If you think you might be in a similar situation, Social Catfish’s reverse search tools can verify anyone’s identity by name, photo, phone number, or email anonymously, in minutes.
How Jodi Met Her Romance Scammer on Match.com
Jodi met her scammer in 2014 after swiping through matches on Match.com. She wasn’t getting any matches at first, then one night she got a message from Collin. He was young and handsome, sweet-talking Jodi with compliments and nicknames from the start.
He would tell her that if she trusted him, he would trust her back, a manipulation tactic designed to rush her into emotional dependency before she could think critically. A lot of their conversations happened through texting rather than phone calls, which kept his real voice and identity hidden.
Jodi and Collin messaged each other online for over seven years. He made constant promises that he was going to marry her, buy her a new car, and purchase their own house. He claimed he had money because he was serving his country, and he even said he’d sent money to his friend in her city and called her while she was in the hospital, and that he and his son would have an amazing relationship with her.
How the Scammer Built Trust Over Seven Years
What makes Jodi’s case instructive isn’t just the length of time; it’s how deliberately the scammer built the relationship before asking for anything.
Romance scammers follow a predictable pattern. They initiate contact, then escalate quickly by expressing intense feelings early — a stage often referred to as “love bombing” designed to create a fast emotional bond and get victims to overlook potential red flags. After that comes steady, consistent communication to establish credibility.
Collin did exactly this over years rather than weeks, which made the manipulation far more effective. By the time money requests started, Jodi had already invested seven years of emotional energy into the relationship. Backing out felt like losing something real.
He would ask for $30 here and there, then gradually increase requests to $100 whenever he asked. He asked for money a few months after they started talking about tickets, medical bills, groceries, documentation, site fees, and medical bills for his son. Money so his son could live.
Jodi was not sure of the exact amount she had sent him at that point. Her estimate was close to $30,000 money that came from her disability payments and social security. It got to the point where she almost couldn’t pay her rent, and she decided to move from New York to Nebraska to live with her mother rent-free. She still wanted to send him money.
The Warning Signs Jodi Missed — And Most People Do
Looking back at Jodi’s case, the red flags were consistent with the pattern seen across thousands of romance scam cases. They’re worth naming clearly, because they don’t feel like red flags when you’re inside the relationship.
He made first contact. In nearly every documented romance scam case, the scammer made first contact through a friend request on Facebook, a like on a dating app, or a message out of nowhere. Collin messaged Jodi first, unsolicited, when she wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone.
He avoided video calls. Collin communicated primarily through text. When Jodi asked for video calls, he had reasons it couldn’t happen. Red flags include refusing video calls and pushing to private messaging apps.
He created urgency around money. Every financial request had an emergency attached, such as medical bills, travel costs, and documentation fees. Once trust is firmly established, the scammer introduces a crisis, such as medical emergencies, frozen bank accounts, military deployment complications, business setbacks, or travel expenses needed to meet in person.
He claimed military service. The military persona is one of the most common romance scam scripts. It explains why he can’t meet, why he needs money sent overseas, and why communication is limited. It also triggers trust and sympathy in victims.
Her family didn’t believe he was real. Jodi’s mom had been calling him names like “scammer” and telling her he wasn’t real. Jodi kept saying that he was and that he was scared he could be fake. When people close to a victim raise doubts and the victim defends the relationship, that’s a consistent pattern in long-term romance scams.
The photos didn’t add up. She also started seeing episodes of Dr. Phil and started questioning whether Collin was a real person or just another catfish, which is what brought her to Social Catfish.
How Social Catfish Busted the Scam
Linnie, Social Catfish’s search specialist, looked through the photos of Collin and his supposed son, David. She found a photo of David in the hospital, supposedly there for a UTI, but Linnie proved this was false when she found a stock photo that looked the same as the photo Jodi had.
There was a photo of Collin holding up two fingers and another photo of him holding up a sign that said: “I love you, Jodi.” Looking at both closely, his face and hat in both photos are the same, as the man holding up two fingers in both photos was photoshopped. One photo was dated 2007, and another from 2008.
Social Catfish ran the main profile photo through their image search and found it was a stock photo from a news article showing a boy on his shoulders. The photo read that it was from a new file when downloaded, confirming it as a stock image.
There was also a photo of Collin in a blue shirt and jacket with a logo with the letter “Y” in a circle. When the team looked at that logo, they realized it was from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. They found the actual man featured in this photo; his name is actually William, a former pitcher for BYU, who is still on active duty at a base in Texas. Collin wasn’t who he claimed to be.
They also found that William’s photos had been reported multiple times on known scam photo websites. There was also a photo with a beehive logo on it, confirming the photo was taken in Utah, consistent with BYU’s state.
Linnie could confirm that Collin wasn’t real. The funds had been sent to someone exploiting Jodi’s trust for seven years, and the investigation gave her the undeniable proof she needed to finally believe it.
What to Do If You Think You’re in a Romance Scam
Jodi’s case is not unusual. By the time families reach out for help, victims have often lost more than $250,000, sometimes taking out second mortgages or alienating loved ones to continue funding the fantasy. The emotional investment makes it genuinely hard to accept the truth, even when the evidence is clear.
If something about your online relationship doesn’t add up, these are the steps to take:
Run a reverse image search on their profile photo. This is the fastest free check. Upload their photo to Google Images or Social Catfish’s image search if the photo appears under a different name, or is a stock image, that’s definitive proof of deception.
Search their name and “scam” on Google. If their identity has been used in other scams, there will often be reports on complaint forums or scam-tracking sites.
Ask for a live video call — and watch what happens. A real person can do a live video call without preparation. Scammers move fast emotionally but avoid in-person contact; refusing video calls is one of the clearest red flags. If there’s always an excuse, that’s your answer.
Use Social Catfish to verify their full identity. Run their name, phone number, email, or photo through Social Catfish’s reverse search. The platform cross-references public records, social media databases, and scam photo registries to tell you whether the person is who they claim to be anonymously, without them knowing you searched. Start a free search here.
If you’ve already sent money, act immediately. Contact your bank to dispute any transfers, report the scam to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and report to your local police. Documentation is required for some bank reimbursement claims. You can also email [email protected] if you want to share your case or be considered for a future Social Catfish investigation.
FAQs About Romance Scams
Most romance scams last weeks to months, but long-term cases like Jodi’s, spanning years, are not uncommon, particularly when the scammer is patient and the victim has become deeply emotionally invested. The longer the relationship, the harder it is for victims to accept the truth.
The scammer makes first contact, moves to intense emotional language quickly, avoids video calls, claims to be overseas or in the military, and eventually introduces a financial emergency. New or overly polished accounts, rapid “soulmate” language, and pressure to move conversations off-platform are all consistent signals of romance fraud.
Yes, it’s one of the most reliable free methods. If a scammer is using stolen photos, a reverse image search will often surface those photos under a different name. Social Catfish’s image search goes further, cross-referencing scam photo databases that Google doesn’t index.
Take their concern seriously enough to verify. Run the person’s photos and contact details through Social Catfish. The search is anonymous, so if they are real, nothing changes. If they’re not, you’ll know before the situation gets worse.
Recovery is difficult but not impossible if you act quickly. Contact your bank immediately to dispute transfers, report to the FTC and FBI’s IC3, and document everything. Wire transfers have the best chance of recovery when reported immediately. Cryptocurrency recovery is a rare report to the FBI IC3 and tracking transactions on blockchain explorers. Gift card losses are extremely difficult to recover.
The Truth Was There — It Just Needed to Be Found
Seven years. Tens of thousands of dollars. A relationship built entirely on stolen photos and scripted manipulation. Jodi’s story is one of the most striking cases Social Catfish has investigated, and the investigation that freed her took a matter of hours.
The scam worked because it was patient and because Jodi genuinely wanted to believe. That’s not a character flaw, it’s exactly what these operations are designed to exploit. The best protection is verification before the emotional investment gets deep enough that the truth becomes hard to accept.
Run a reverse search on Social Catfish free to start, anonymously, and the fastest way to know the truth about who you’re really talking to.
