Does anyone have experience with romance scams?

I've not known any victims personally nor been the target of an attempt, but it is all too common and will continue until the owners of the social-media sites used find the courage and morality to do something about it rather than just bleating about "taking down content" [[i]sic[/i]].

a) Block the senders for life. (I realise the crooks will just use alternative names and URLs but eventually should learn any such attempts will always be met by a ban.),

b) Inform the victims and with their permission, their banks. (Sometimes banks will spot an uncharacteristic run of transfers and ask the customer about them, but there is little else they can do if the customer has freely given his or her money away.)

c) Pass the senders' identities to the appropriate authorities.

d) Make all posts show the country of origin, with an option for the user to block that wholesale.

e) Close all dating sites unless and until verified as bona-fide, and then verify the bona-fide of advertisers, and immediately and permanently ban any found to be demanding money.

Posts can be traced. An English First-Division footballer was the victim of racist abuse on-line which he thought was from a neighbour. The culprit was traced to Singapore where he was fined heavily. He did apologise, and added something that seems common among Internet bullies; their little digital world is so remote and hermetic from real life that they find it hard to believe they are abusing a real person with real feelings.