Scammers are getting bolder and more personal, increasingly pretending to be people you trust. A new multinational survey points to a sharp rise in fraudsters posing as friends, relatives, and former partners—an evolution of confidence tricks that plays on memory, emotion, and urgency.
What the survey reveals about rising loved-one impersonation scams
Phone verification firm ClarityCheck surveyed roughly 1,900 adults across the U.S., UK, and European Union and found that 64% encountered a suspicious call, text, email, or DM that appeared to come from someone they knew. Nearly half of those incidents involved impersonation of a former romantic partner or a close friend, pointing to a calculated shift away from strangers and generic scripts.
- What the survey reveals about rising loved-one impersonation scams
- How the impersonation works across calls, texts, and social apps
- Who is most at risk from loved-one and friend impersonation
- How regulators and platforms respond to loved-one impersonation scams
- How to protect yourself from rising loved-one impersonation scams
Deception often persisted: 38% of affected respondents initially believed the impersonator for several days or longer—even in cases where the impostor requested money or personal data. The company’s analysis suggests emotional context matters: people who had recently experienced a breakup, relocation, or prolonged isolation were 52% more likely to keep engaging with a suspicious contact.
ClarityCheck’s leadership noted that the fallout extends beyond drained bank accounts. The psychological impact—doubt about one’s judgment and reinterpreting past relationships—can linger, which in turn makes victims more cautious yet paradoxically vulnerable to sophisticated follow-up scams.
How the impersonation works across calls, texts, and social apps
These schemes lean on details scraped from social media, data breaches, and old contact lists to craft messages that “sound right.” Attackers spoof caller IDs, hijack messaging accounts, or spin up look-alike profiles, then push targets to move conversations off familiar platforms where safety tools exist.
Voice cloning adds a potent twist. The Federal Trade Commission has warned that fraudsters can now mimic a loved one’s voice from short audio clips, then stage urgent “I’m in trouble” calls demanding fast payment via crypto, wire, or gift cards. Other operations, including long-con “pig butchering” scams, cultivate trust over weeks before pivoting to financial asks tied to fake investments or emergency expenses.
Classic tells remain: pressure to act immediately, secrecy, and requests for untraceable payments. But when the pitch comes wrapped in familiar names, nicknames, or personal anecdotes, many guardrails slip.
Who is most at risk from loved-one and friend impersonation
Life transitions amplify exposure. People navigating a move, a breakup, new school term, or period of caregiving tend to communicate with a wider circle and rely more on messaging—ideal conditions for impostors. Loneliness and social isolation, flagged by public health agencies as worsening in recent years, also correlate with prolonged engagements with scammers.
Age is not a simple predictor. Reports to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the UK’s Action Fraud show older adults generally lose more per incident, while younger users encounter high volumes of attacks across apps and DMs. Both groups face risk for different reasons: wealth and established relationships on one side; always-online messaging habits on the other.
How regulators and platforms respond to loved-one impersonation scams
Regulators are chasing a moving target. The FTC has finalized rules targeting government and business impersonation and has proposed expanding protections to cover impersonation of individuals, aiming to hold platforms and perpetrators more accountable. Telecom frameworks like STIR/SHAKEN have curbed some caller ID spoofing on U.S. networks, but criminals often route calls through overseas gateways to evade checks.
Dating platforms—frequent contact points for trust-based scams—are tightening verification. Tinder has implemented facial scans for new users, and Hinge has said it will test similar checks. Lawmakers in multiple countries have pressed large platforms to deploy fraud-detection tools faster and to share threat intelligence with law enforcement and financial institutions.
How to protect yourself from rising loved-one impersonation scams
Pause and verify through a different channel. If you get an urgent request from a “relative” or “friend,” call them back on a known number, start a fresh thread, or ask a question only they would answer. For family emergency codes, agree on a simple passphrase offline.
Scrutinize payment asks. Gift cards, crypto, and wire transfers are top choices for impostors because they are fast and hard to reverse. Any demand to keep a transaction secret or to act immediately is a red flag.
Lock down your digital footprint. Tighten privacy settings, remove old phone numbers and personal details from public profiles, enable multifactor authentication, and watch for login alerts. Consider a phone or handle verification service before engaging with unfamiliar contacts.
Report promptly. In the U.S., file with the FTC and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center; in the UK, use Action Fraud; in the EU, contact your national cybercrime unit. Alert your bank or card issuer immediately—speed improves recovery odds and helps investigators connect cases.
The rise of loved-one impersonation is a reminder that cybercrime is not just technical—it’s personal. Treat every unexpected request, even from a familiar name or voice, as a scenario to verify before you trust.
