YOUR FRIEND HAS A US / CANADIAN NUMBER?? So they must be there, right? WRONG.. Very easy to trick you with these.
VOIP in Romance Scams (Short Overview)Romance scammers almost never use their real phone numbers. Instead, they rely heavily on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services because they are:
Cheap or free – Many VoIP numbers cost $1–5/month or are free.
Disposable – Scammers can create and delete numbers in seconds.
Spoofable – They can make the caller ID show any number/area code they want (e.g., a US number while sitting in Nigeria or Ghana).
Untraceable – Most VoIP providers have weak KYC; scammers use fake IDs, stolen cards, or crypto to sign up.
Most Common VoIP Services Used by Romance ScammersTextNow, TextPlus, Talkatone (free US/Canada numbers, very popular)
Google Voice (easy to create with throwaway Gmail accounts)
Burner, Hushed, MySudo (paid temporary numbers)
Skype numbers
Pinger / Sideline
Telos, 2ndLine
Non-KYC virtual SIM providers (e.g., KeepCalling, Boss Revolution, some crypto-based services)
Typical Pattern
Scammer creates fake profile on dating site or Facebook/Instagram.
Moves victim quickly to WhatsApp or Telegram.
Gives a VoIP number (usually US/UK/Canada area code) “for voice calls” to build trust.
Uses the number for weeks/months, then abandons it when the victim is “hooked” or the scam is reported.
Red Flags of VoIP Numbers in Romance Scams
Number is from a known VoIP provider (check via carrier lookup sites like freecarrierlookup.com or 800notes.com)
Area code doesn’t match claimed location
Call quality is slightly delayed or robotic
Number goes dead suddenly or is reassigned
Can’t receive SMS from some banks/short-code services (common with Google Voice/TextNow)
In short: If someone you met online insists on moving to a new US/UK number that turns out to be TextNow/Google Voice/etc., it’s an almost 100% indicator of a romance scam.
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