How do I spot a romance scammer online before getting hurt?

Patterns I see almost universally:

• Too-perfect profile: model-tier photos, exceptional career (oil rig, surgeon, military deployed overseas), tragic backstory (widowed, single parent).
• Fast intimacy escalation: 'I love you' within 2 weeks, talk of meeting/marriage within a month.
• Refuses video calls or only does very brief ones with poor connection.
• Moves to WhatsApp/Telegram immediately to avoid the dating app's safety systems.
• Conveniently can never meet — emergency, deployment, customs hold.
• Eventually introduces money: a 'great opportunity', an emergency, or asks you to 'hold' something.

The single most reliable test: insist on a live, unscripted video call from the first week. Scammers either refuse or stall indefinitely. Real people will say yes.