If you’re looking for love online, you’d be smart to take what people say with a big grain of salt. Why? Because some dating profiles are fake – and are fronts for scammers trying to steal your money. Experts say that dating scammers work to charm you, and once they’ve got you on the hook, they lay on a sob story and ask for money.

In fact, every year the FBI gets tons of complaints from people scammed by someone they met on a dating site, often to the tune of thousands of dollars. Most of them were hit with a “financial distress” story, like their mother’s sick, and they can’t pay the medical bills. Or they’re desperate to visit you, but their credit card’s maxed out. Or they’re stuck overseas, and don’t have enough money to get home. Here are a few dating scam red flags to watch for:

First: They’re too good to be true. For example, they look like a model, and claim to be a recently-widowed veterinarian who lives overseas, and loves poetry, traveling and shopping. The fix: Check out their photo and story. You can upload their picture at TinEye.com, and see where – and how often - that picture has appeared online. Go to Google or Bing, and plug in chunks – word-for-word - from their email or profile. It may pop right up, saying scam!

Also, pay attention to whether their language sounds strange. A lot of scammers are foreign, and may not know English very well. So, you’ll get odd phrases like: “You are such a prettyful lady.” Another red flag: They don’t want to Skype or talk on the phone. They may not match their pictures, and you can probably tell in about 30 seconds they’re not for real. Finally – and most importantly – don’t send money to a stranger. Befriending someone online doesn’t make them a real friend.