Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to another addition of Fraud Fridays.
February 14th, Valentine’s Day; makes you think of love and romance, candy and flowers, even Cupid that adorable chubby baby shooting his arrows at everyone. And while there are many different reasons given for why we celebrate this day, bet no one thinks of it as a day of widespread fraud. Unfortunately, for many people around the world, love day is not all sunshine and roses. Romance Scams tend to spike around Valentine’s Day. Scammers exploit the commercialization and increased holiday driven desires for companionship and emotional vulnerability this day seems to carry with it. Romance scams go by many names; catfishing, sweetheart scam, relationship fraud, etc. No matter what you call it, anyone can become a victim at any time. These scams are typically associated with older people since fraudsters seem to prey on them more. However, scammers don’t discriminate age, race, sex, religion…all they need is a willing participant. Romance scams are nothing new, and we have covered them on Fraud Friday before. With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, let’s take a refresher look at some of the red flags associated with romance scams, how they operate, and what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.
According to the FBI, a romance scam occurs when criminals use fake online identities in order to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer forms a romantic or close relationship and begins to manipulate and steal from the victim. They oftentimes start out seeming innocent enough but almost always end up with the victim losing money and the fraudster disappearing into thin air. Some scammers use the same online profile repeatedly with several victims. Check out “Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam” on HULU, Disney +, or YouTube for a perfect example of this tactic. Sometimes scammers will send random text messages to different phone numbers hoping to snag a victim responding to let them know they have the wrong number. And we have all heard of celebrity romance scams; fraudsters using AI or fake profiles to convince a victim they are a famous celebrity who has fallen for them. Whatever the tactic, none of it is real, and if you fall for it you are setting yourself up for heartbreak and loss. Even with all this knowledge, desperate people will believe and do insane things in the name of love. While it is true that not all internet based relationships are scams, here are some warning signs that people need to look out for if they plan to find love online:
💔You meet someone online and things move way too fast. They quickly declare their affection for you and then the love bombing begins. You are overwhelmed with calls, messages, sometimes even gifts to make you feel special.
💔Your new love wants to move the chat away from social media or that dating app where you met to a messaging platform such as WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, or LINE. All of these sites are teeming with fraud!
💔 Once the scammer has love bombed and moved you to a private chat, they go to work establishing an even deeper emotional connection. Slowly but surely, the conversations are steered toward finances and they start asking for money. Small amounts at first then gradually getting larger. It could be a personal crisis, medical bill, or car repair, anything to play on the victim’s emotions. Once you start giving money to a scammer, they just want more and more.
💔Scammers like to cut their victims off from their family and friends. They want the victim all to themselves so they can manipulate and twist the situation to continue to get what they want. Statements such as “let’s keep this between us” or “It’s our secret” or “If you tell anyone they will make you stop talking to me” are often used to aid in isolation tactics by fraudsters. They also don’t like to be questioned. If you get too curious or don’t do what they ask, the fraudster will get angry and may even threaten to end the relationship themselves.
💔One of the biggest signs that the person you are talking to is not who they say they are is they tend to have some reason why you can’t meet in person or video chat. They could blame it on work, say they are overseas, their phone is acting up, video chat doesn’t work, or a million other excuses. These people will say anything to stop you from finding out that their online profile doesn’t match what they have been telling you. In the end it all means the same thing—you are getting scammed!
Not everyone who searches for love online is out to scam. There are legit people out there, you just have to be careful. Keep yourself safe by staying educated on scams, look out for the red flags, and don’t be afraid to say no to anything that makes you uncomfortable. Here are some more tips to help stay safe from a romance scam:
💘Never send money to anyone you have never met in person! Never give out sensitive information online to anyone! Sensitive information includes but is not limited to SSN, date of birth, address, bank account and routing number, debit/credit card number, basically anything that could give away who you are.
💘Take it slowly when meeting a new person online. Always ask a lot of questions, watch for things that don’t quite add up. You can search the scammer’s name along with the word “scam” in a search engine or do a reverse image search of pictures. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
💘Watch what you post, never ever send any pictures that could be used against you later!
💘Watch out for fake profiles, people who seem too perfect or too good to be true. New or inactive profiles with little to no personal info, connections, followers or friends more often than not turn out to be catfish.
With these things in mind, and by being cautious online, you can avoid the traps that Romance Scammers set. Let this Valentine’s Day (and every day) be what it is meant for…..LOVE! Have a wonderful weekend!
Tara Montgomery
Exchange Bank of Alabama
Fraud Specialist
(256) 691-0328
