Tulsa International Airport Warns Of Rising 'Romeo Scam' Targeting Vulnerable Travelers

The Tulsa International Airport said it’s seeing evidence of an old scam at the airport, the "romance" or "Romeo" scam. Scammers convince people online they’re in love with them, but it’s all about money.

The police chief at Tulsa International Airport, Dan Hansen, said they've seen an increase in people waiting near the baggage claim or meet and greet area because they’re convinced their online love interest is going to show up, but they never do, it’s all a lie. 

He said the person never arrives and doesn’t even exist, and by then, the victim has sent the person thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

In the last month, he has seen about 10 different-aged victims come to the airport. Chief Hansen said the scam starts when scammers message victims on social media. 

“If you can’t ever get a face-to-face, a FaceTime conversation with somebody, or there’s just some suspicious behavior, like every time you try to meet, there's some excuse or there’s somebody who’s requesting a large sum of money for some sort of elaborate plan or story, those are kind of like warning signs that you really kind of want to look out for,” Hansen said. 

Chief Hansen said that people are not only out of their money but also heartbroken.

Police say it’s always a scam if they want money through gift cards, Bitcoin, cash apps, or money transfers like Western Union or MoneyGram because it’s almost impossible to get your money back if you pay that way.