Money
Asked to pay for a plane ticket, visa, or hotel
They want to visit you at last, but there's a cost in the way: a flight, a visa, 'leave papers', a hotel deposit, an exit fee. You pay, and something else comes up. It's one of the most common money asks in romance scripts, and a favorite of fake soldiers and offshore workers.
What it looks like
- The trip is their idea, and so is the request that you cover it.
- A specific, official-sounding fee: 'military leave processing', 'travel clearance', 'agent fee'.
- The flight gets missed or canceled, and a new fee appears.
- They ask you to book through a site or agent they name, or to send cash to a third party.
Why would someone you've never met ask you to fund their trip?
Meeting is what you want most, so paying for it feels like progress rather than a warning sign. The fees sound bureaucratic enough to be plausible, especially wrapped in a military or overseas story. Real militaries don't charge soldiers to take leave, and nobody real needs you to pay a stranger's agent.
What to do
- Don't pay for travel for someone you haven't met. If they can't afford to visit, that's their situation to solve.
- If they say they're military, know that the US Army says it never charges for leave, phones, or paperwork.
- Already paid? Contact your bank or the payment app right away.
- Look up any 'agent' or 'travel company' name plus 'scam' before doing anything else.
More in the tips: Dating and new online friends.
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