Scammers continue to prey on those searching for love online, say experts. Online romance scams
Last year, scammers defrauded Americans searching for love online of a record $547 million, according to government reports.
New data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that Americans have reported losing $1.3 billion to romance scams in the last five years, more than any other kind of fraud documented by the FTC. The research comes just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Romance scammers, like other con artists, typically utilise stolen images and phoney profiles to defraud unsuspecting individuals. In some cases, they’ll even pretend to be someone else to provide the impression of authenticity.
The allure of romance
The majority of persons who fell victim to an online romance scam in 2021 said that they were recruited through dating apps, while some said that they were contacted via private messaging on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram.
Romance scammers use all kinds of plausible claims to trick victims into turning over their hard-earned money, such as pleadings for aid while claiming a series of financial or health crises, or a sick kid or a temporary inability to collect their money for various reasons.
Scammers increasingly used romance as a hook to entice victims into phoney investments last year, many of which included cryptocurrencies, according to the FTC.
Scammers use their victims’ false confidence in their own abilities as investors to lure them into investment schemes that include trading in foreign exchange (forex) or cryptocurrencies. Scam victims typically lose all of their money when they follow the scammer’s advise.
The highest recorded losses from romance scams in 2021 were $139 million in cryptocurrencies. However, more consumers reported paying romance fraudsters with gift cards than any other technique. A total of $36 million was lost to romance scams last year because of the payment method used by one out of every four victims: gift cards.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises consumers to avoid falling prey to online romance scams by never sending or forwarding money to someone they haven’t seen in person, and by avoiding acting on their financial advice. A reverse image search of their profile images, on the other hand, may help confirm that they are really who they claim to be.