Romance Scams are on the rise.
More relationships are starting online, and scammers are taking advantage of this digital medium to make money. A prime day for fraudsters is Valentine’s Day! Scammers often use fake profiles on social media or dating websites to falsely gain trust and take advantage of people’s increased vulnerability and desire for companionship.
Once the criminals gain their target’s trust, they ask for money to be wired to them, to be loaded on prepaid gift cards—usually under the guise of an emergency, medical treatment, lost documents, or even buying a plane ticket to visit you.
Common patterns in a Romance Scam:
- 1) The person’s profile picture looks more like a model from a fashion magazine or possibly stock photography.
- 2) The person seems exceptionally kind, showers you with compliments, and quickly starts talking about love or a shared future, even though you’ve never met in person.
- 3) Their messages contain vague stories about themselves and often have small contradictions.
- 4) They ask you to send them money due to an “emergency” and promise to pay it back. But they never do, and they keep asking for more.
- 5) They want to keep your relationship a secret.
- 6) They avoid video calls and meeting you in real life (IRL) with excuses like their “camera is broken,” or they were on their way to meet you, but “their car broke down.”
Example: (Identities were edited to ensure privacy)
What are the red flags?
- Tom lists that he is an architect and a model in his profile, which are two very generic titles.
- The text exchange began with Tom apologizing for missing their first “in-person” date, due to car trouble. He included three key “scam” details:
1) The dollar amount he needs to have it fixed.
2) That he was so excited to meet in-person, because he has “never felt this way before”
3) That if his car was able to be fixed, they could finally meet! - His profile lists that he is 83 miles away, but he claims Uber doesn’t service his area.
- The jobs both of an architect, or a model would require him to have reliable transportation to travel to the job sites/photo shoots.
Tips to protect yourself from a Romance Scam:
- 1) Check the validity of the person’s profile picture. Uploading a screenshot of the person’s picture in “Google Image Search” can reveal if the person’s profile photo is stock photography or possibly being used under a different name or website.
- 2) Take the relationship slowly. Be wary of instant romantic connections. Ask the person a lot of questions and watch for inconsistencies that might reveal an impostor.
- 3) Be suspicious if they want to keep your relationship a secret. Romance scammers are experts in clouding your judgement. When in doubt, talk to family and friends about the new potential love interest and pay attention if they have concerns.
- 4) Limit the amount of personal information you provide. Scammers can exploit details like your pet’s names, where you work, where you attended high school, etc. to hack financial accounts, or even commit identity theft.
- 5) Never send money, cryptocurrency, or pre-paid cards to someone you’ve never met.
- 6) Never deposit or cash a check for someone you’ve never met.
What to do if you suspect a Romance Scam:
- 1) If you suspect you have been contacted by a Romance scammer do not continue communication with them. Ignore their emails, IMs, or other communications. Use the online dating site’s “abuse flagging system” to file a complaint and mark their account as “suspicious.”
- 2) If you have sent funds to someone and suspect you are a victim of a Romance Scam, contact your financial institution immediately to attempt to stop the transfer, or possibly regain your funds.
- 3) Report a suspected online romance scam to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission FTC at ftc.gov/complaint
Additional Resources:
- Video: This is a 10-minute video from fbi.gov that speaks to the techniques the scammers use, what someone can do, and red flags. Romance Scams, Revisited — FBI
- Article: This article from the FTC breaks down some things in graphics that might be helpful: Romance scammers’ favorite lies exposed | Federal Trade Commission
- Article: This article from the FTC offers common trends: What to Know About Romance Scams | Consumer Advice
- Article: This article from AARP provides helpful clues and indicators: Online Romance and Dating Scams: How to Spot a Scammer
- Fraud Prevention Hub: Information from the Maine Credit Union League. Provides tips, and resources to help you avoid falling victim to fraud and scams: Fraud Prevention – Maine Credit Unions