Love Is In The Air: Don’t Fall For Romance Scams

February 2, 2024

By K-Staff

Fraud, Insighter

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and as we near the start of spring, love is in the air – but where there are lonely hearts, there are also scammers looking to take advantage of them.

Online dating and social media have made it easier to find love and meet new friends, but it has also made it easier for con artists to find marks to swindle their money away.

Romance and confidence scams were responsible for a staggering $735.8 million in losses claimed in 2022 – nearly a 25% increase from the previous year.

How do romance scams work?

Romance scams (also known as “catfishing”) are a type of confidence scam where the criminal creates a fake profile on dating sites or apps or tries to contact people through social media to build a trusting relationship. The scammer will do this by exchanging photos and romantic messages, sometimes through text messages, voice messages, or webcam chats.

This process can last days or weeks before the criminal makes their play by asking for money, gifts, or other favors.

Things To Look Out For

They’re too good to be true. Scam profiles will generally have attractive photos or displays of financial success – if they are seemingly perfect, you should be skeptical.

They pretend to be in places you can’t meet with them. To provide a plausible reason why they can’t meet with you in person, the scammer may claim to be working outside of the country or in a similarly inaccessible place (on an oil rig, in the military, etc.)

They’re quick to claim they are in love. Even if you can’t meet them in person, they will chat with you daily, and too quickly, they’ll come forth with declarations of love or even ask to marry you, saying you can share all of your secrets (and money) with them now. Don’t fall for it.

They use hard-luck stories to ask for money or gifts. They make plans to see you, but lo and behold, they can’t because they have a lost airline ticket, visa, or a medical emergency. If you send them some money, they could still see you… but before you send them anything, think before you act.

Avoid Being Taken By Romance Scammers

Never send money or gifts to someone you haven’t met in person. Cut off contact if someone asks you for information from your bank account, credit card, or government ID.
Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. If the image appears on other pages associated with different names or details that don’t match their profile, there’s a good chance it’s a scammer.
Search online for the type of job the person has, plus the word “scammer,” and see if others have posted similar stories.

If someone asks for your account information or payment by money, gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency, they are likely a scammer. Be skeptical of any such request, and if you suspect someone is a scammer, cut off contact immediately. You can also contact support representatives for the social media platform or dating app the scammer is using and report fraud to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Sources:

No love for romance scammers in 2024 (https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/01/no-love-romance-scammers-2024)

What to Know About Romance Scams (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams)

2022 FBI ICCC Annual Report (https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf)

BBB Tip: Romance Scams (https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/17012-bbb-tip-romance-scams)