It can begin with a few stolen photographs.
A scammer creates a dating profile using another person’s name, likeness and personal information. The impersonator contacts prospective romantic partners, develops their trust and eventually attempts to obtain money, cryptocurrency or sensitive information.
The Federal Trade Commission says romance scammers frequently create fake dating profiles using photographs of real people. They often try to move conversations away from the dating platform before requesting money. FTC guidance ↗
But the person approached by the scammer is not always the only victim. The individual whose identity was stolen may discover that their photographs and reputation have become attached to conversations they say they never participated in.
When impersonation moves beyond the dating app
Multiple victims have described discovering that someone had created Bumble profiles using their photographs and identities to communicate with women.
Some later learned of messages that appeared to originate from email addresses associated with their Apple Accounts. According to their accounts, the messages involved photographs of them and attempts to solicit money from women they say they had never met or contacted.
Some say they documented the suspected impersonation months before later messages were discovered because they wanted advice about possible legal action.
Those claims require examination of the relevant accounts, devices and records to establish exactly what occurred. This article does not independently determine who authored the disputed communications.
Apple explains that iMessage can send and receive messages using either telephone numbers or email addresses. Conversations may also appear across Apple devices configured for the same address. Apple Support ↗
Seeing a conversation associated with an email address identifies the account used. It does not, by itself, establish which person physically controlled every device at the time.
Phone records have limits
Cellular records can help determine whether ordinary calls or SMS messages occurred between particular numbers. They generally cannot provide a complete record of iMessages because iMessage uses an internet connection rather than the carrier’s SMS system.
Potential evidence includes recognized-device lists, account security notifications, sign-in records, message timestamps, synchronized devices, copies of fraudulent profiles, earlier reports and original photographs.
The scam creates two categories of victims
The first victim is the person deceived by the fraudulent romantic identity. After trust develops, a scammer may request money for travel, medical expenses, an emergency or an investment.
The second victim is the person being impersonated. Their name and photographs may become associated with requests for money, sexual conversations, harassment or other conduct they had no knowledge of.
What to do if your identity is being used
Preserve evidence before profiles or messages disappear. Capture the complete profile, username, biography, location, photographs, timestamps and conversation—not merely selected excerpts.
Report the account to the dating platform. If money was requested or transferred, submit a report through the FTC ↗ and consider reporting it to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center ↗.
If an Apple Account may have been accessed, Apple recommends immediately changing its password, reviewing security information, enabling two-factor authentication and removing unrecognized devices.