If you’ve read anything else on this site, you already know most long-distance relationships are real. This article isn’t about being suspicious of every man who lives somewhere else. It’s here for the moment you already know something is wrong, and you need to know exactly who to call.

A quick note before we start. Reporting doesn’t only matter if you sent money. Reporting matters because these networks operate at scale, often the same handful of scripts and photos used against dozens of women at once, and every report makes it a little harder for the next woman to be found the same way.

Wherever the scammer claims to be located, also report it in your own country. Cross-border cooperation is real, and your home country’s agency needs your report just as much as the country the scammer claims to be in.

Australia

• Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre: scamwatch.gov.au
• ReportCyber: cyber.gov.au/report

Brazil

• File a police report (Boletim de Ocorrência) at your local Delegacia Eletrônica (online police station) (online police report, varies by state): gov.br/pf, search “Delegacia Eletrônica” plus your state
• If a PIX payment was involved, request a PIX MED refund through your bank app immediately, since speed matters for recovery

Canada

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501 or antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca

China

• Report to your local Public Security Bureau (公安局), or use the national 12377 cyber reporting hotline for online fraud and illegal content

Colombia

• Report to the Policía Nacional’s CAI Virtual (virtual cybercrime unit) at caivirtual.policia.gov.co

Egypt

• Report to your nearest police station and ask for the case to be referred to the Ministry of Interior’s cybercrime unit. If you’re a foreign national, your embassy in Cairo can also help direct the report.
• Ministry of Interior: moiegypt.gov.eg

Germany

• Report to your local Polizei station and request referral to the Landeskriminalamt (LKA) Cybercrime Unit.
• File online through your state’s Online-Wache (online police station)

Ghana

• Ghana Police Service, CID Cybercrime Unit: police.gov.gh
• Toll free line: 18555
• Walk in at CID Headquarters, Accra, if you’re local

India

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: cybercrime.gov.in
• National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930, available 24/7, with a specific focus on crimes against women

Indonesia

• Patroli Siber (Cyber Patrol): patrolisiber.id
• Report to your nearest Polri station and request referral to Direktorat Tindak Pidana Siber

Ireland

• An Garda Síochána: garda.ie
• Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau, reached through your local Garda station

Jamaica

• Jamaica Constabulary Force: jcf.gov.jm
• Crime Stop (anonymous): 311
• National Intelligence Bureau: 811

Jordan

• Public Security Directorate: psd.gov.jo
• Report through your nearest police station and ask for the Cyber Crime Unit under CID

Kenya

• Directorate of Criminal Investigations: dci.go.ke
• Phone: 0800 722 203
• Mobile money fraud: forward the transaction SMS to 456

Malaysia

• National Scam Response Centre: call 997 immediately if money was sent
• PDRM CCID Infoline: WhatsApp only, 013-211 1222
• CCID website: ccid.rmp.gov.my

Morocco

• DGSN E-Blagh platform: service-public.ma (search “E-Blagh”), or dgsn.ma
• File in person with the judicial police’s cybercrime brigade if the case involves blackmail or sextortion

Nigeria

• Economic and Financial Crimes Commission: efcc.gov.ng
• Email: [email protected]
• Note: EFCC’s own guidance warns that fake “EFCC reporting” pages exist, so always start from efcc.gov.ng directly rather than a link from elsewhere

Pakistan

• FIA Cyber Crime Wing: cybercrime.gov.pk
• Helpline: 1991

Philippines

• PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group: Phone (02) 3414-1560, email [email protected]
• NBI Cybercrime Division: Phone (02) 8523-8231 to 38, website nbi.gov.ph

South Africa

• SAPS Crime Stop: 0860 010 111
• SAFPS Yima: yima.org.za

Turkey

• Report to your nearest Emniyet (police) station and request referral to the Cyber Crime Department
• National police non-emergency line: 155

United Arab Emirates

• Dubai Police eCrime: ecrime.ae, phone 901
• Abu Dhabi Police Aman Service: 8002626
• MOI eCrimes (all Emirates): moi.gov.ae, via the MoI UAE app

United Kingdom

• Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk
• Phone: 0300 123 2040

United States

• FBI IC3: ic3.gov
• FTC Report Fraud: reportfraud.ftc.gov
• AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline: 877-908-3360
• National Elder Fraud Hotline (60+): 833-372-8311 any age, not only seniors

If He Claims to Be a U.S. Soldier

This is one of the most common versions of this scam, and it has its own dedicated reporting channel.

Real U.S. service members almost never ask a partner for money, and legitimate deployment does not require a soldier to pay for internet access, satellite phones, leave papers, or a plane ticket home. If any of that sounds familiar, you’re likely dealing with a stolen photo and a fake identity, not an actual soldier.

• Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID): submit a tip at cid.army.mil, under their fraud and scam reporting section
• Also report the fake profile directly to the platform it’s on (Facebook, Instagram, the dating app itself), since the account itself violates their terms of service regardless of what CID’s investigation finds

If Your Country Isn’t on This List

Report to your local police and specifically ask for the cybercrime or fraud division by name, since general officers may not automatically route it there. Then still file a report with the FBI’s IC3 (ic3.gov) if you’re a US citizen, or your home country’s national fraud reporting body, since most of these agencies accept reports regardless of where the scammer claims to be located.

Before You Report Anywhere, Save This First

• Every message, ideally as a full conversation export, not just screenshots of the parts that upset you
• Every phone number, email, and username he’s used
• Every transaction record: amounts, dates, wallet addresses, wire transfer confirmations
• Any photos or videos he sent, since these are often stolen from someone else entirely and can help identify the real network behind the account

You are not filing this report because you did something wrong. You’re filing it because you’re the one with the evidence that can stop this from happening to someone else.

Need to know what to do next after reporting? Read What to Do If You’ve Been the Victim of a Romance Scam.