{"id":10940,"date":"2023-11-15T13:32:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T21:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/blog\/?p=10940"},"modified":"2026-01-22T12:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:05:10","slug":"cell-phone-scam-why-do-romance-scammers-ask-their-victims-to-send-them-cell-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.socialcatfish.cloud\/scamfish\/cell-phone-scam-why-do-romance-scammers-ask-their-victims-to-send-them-cell-phones\/","title":{"rendered":"Cell Phone Scam: Why Do Romance Scammers Ask Victims to Send Them Cell Phones?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When victims talk to a romance scammer<\/a>, they are usually asked to send the money for an emergency reason. However, there have been times where a romance scammer might ask their victims to send them cell phones as well. It turns out that they are just as valuable as money and easy to obtain as long as they can get their hands on someone’s cellular account<\/a> and a helpful victim. If you are someone who is suspicious of the person you are talking to online, here is the cell phone scam that you need to watch out for!<\/p>\n

How Does The Cell Phone Scam Work?<\/h2>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Obsolete-cellphones-812331-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”center” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The romance scammer<\/a> forms a relationship with their victim and gains their trust. Then once the victim has fallen for the scammer, they are asked to ship the scammer a phone or multiple phones, depending on the situation. These excuses can range from the scammer simply needing a new phone, or the scammer needing new phones for their employees.<\/a><\/p>\n

The victim is instructed to go to a specific phone store<\/a> to pick up the phone(s) and bring them to a post office. Sometimes, the victim has to pay<\/a> for the phones they pick up! They are also instructed to go to a UPS or a FedEx<\/a> to ship the package over to the scammer in various locations. Most of the time, the scammer<\/a> instructs the victim to ship the package overseas in Dubai or Nigeria.<\/p>\n

The scammer<\/a> takes the phone(s) given to them and sells them, making money off of the phone(s). Usually, they purchase the phones with someone else’s cell phone carrier account and request to pick them up at various cell phone stores. That’s when they instruct their victims to pick the cell phones<\/a> up for them, using the various excuses they come up with. They do this so that there is less chance they will be caught for their crimes.<\/p>\n

How to Avoid The Cell Phone Scam<\/h2>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Colleagues-using-smartphones-392151-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”100%” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”center” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n