Posted: 01:30 EST

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The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has gone Buzzfeed with 6 Signs Your Online Sweetie Might Be An Overseas Scammer (complete with pics and gifs).

The Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs receives daily calls about international scams involving Internet dating. Many scams are initiated through the Internet; victims range in age from teens to the elderly and come from all socio-economic backgrounds. 

Our favorite is probably #5.  Your love interest has really. Bad. Luck.

Image via travel.state.gov/buzzfeed community

Check out the whole list here.

According to travel.state.gov, in many scam scenarios, the correspondent suddenly falls into dire circumstances overseas (i.e. an arrest or a horrible car accident) about two to three months after a connection is made.  The correspondent will ask you to send money for hospital bills, visa fees, or legal expenses.  It is also common for scammers to tell U.S. citizens that a close family member, usually a teenager, is in desperate need of surgery and  to request monetary assistance.  You may even be contacted by a “doctor” requesting that money be sent to the hospital on behalf of the correspondent.  Note that any doctor, lawyer, or police officer who contacts you is likely a part of the scam. The amounts lost by U.S. citizens in these types of scams can range from relatively small amounts to more than $400,000.

This could ruin a few Internet romance on the most romantic week of the year, but click here to read more about Internet dating and romance scams from the folks who have heard it all.

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