Romance Scammers Target the Lonely and the Widowed. Trump Just Signed a Law That Makes Dating Apps Warn You Within 24 Hours
On Oct. 20, President Trump signed the bipartisan Romance Scam Prevention Act, requiring dating apps to tell users when someone they messaged was banned for fraud. A day earlier, the FTC said older Americans reported about $3 billion in fraud losses in 2025. In our view, it is a common-sense shield, and the one-year wait is too long.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 21, 2026 | 6-min read She lost her husband, went looking for companionship online, and met a kind man who said he was from New Jersey. Then came the emergencies: trouble on an oil rig, an arrest in Mexico, legal fees, a heart attack. She kept sending money [1]. That story, from an investigation by Sen. Maggie Hassan's Joint Economic Committee staff released this month, is happening in living rooms across America. On Tuesday, President Trump signed the Romance Scam Prevention Act, which requires dating apps nationwide to warn users when someone they have been talking to is banned for fraud [2][3]. In our view, it is a common-sense shield for exactly the people scammers hunt. Key Takeaways President Trump signed H.R. 2481, the Romance Scam Prevention Act, on Oct. 20, 2026 [2]. Dating services must send a "fraud ban notification" to any member who received a message from a member banned for fraud, generally within 24 hours of the ban [3]. The warning must name the banned profile, say it may have used a false identity, and tell users not to send money or financial information [3]. The FTC and state attorneys general can enforce the law, and it takes