Organizations such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), AARP, Better Business Bureau, Identity Theft Resource Center have been warning everyone about romance scams.
The FTC points out that it has seen a 50% increase of
reports of romance scams since 2019. And it says that consumers report losing a
record $304 million to romance scams last year.
More and more people are using websites and apps to
meet potential romantic partners. Scammers lurk on these sites, posting fake pictures
and profiles. Then they can wait for victims to show interest.
Most people on dating websites are honest. But the few
that are scammers do have patterns that you can look for. As with most scams,
the scammers want to get you emotional so that you act before thinking. Here
are some warning signs to look for,
·
Photos showing people who are too perfect
and stories of great financial success. Be wary of photos and unusually
successful stories. You can check photos through Google’s “search the image”
feature.
· Romance scammers may want to communicate
away from the site with email, messenger, or phone.
· The scammer may quickly profess their love
for you and may talk about a future together early in the communication.
· They may lavish praise of you in emails,
texts, or on the phone. Copy and paste the text into a search engine to see if
they show up on websites dedicated to exposing romance scams.
· They may promise to meet with you in
person, but, when the time comes produce an excuse that they cannot meet. Or
they may tell you a story such as they are in the military in Afghanistan or
some other far-off posting, or they are on an oil rig, or they are in an
international aid organization in Africa.
· They may talk about trust. Then they may give
a hard luck story that leads to a request for money to help them out.
To help you from becoming a victim of this scam,
remember,
· Do not send money or personal information to
anyone that you have not met in person.
· Ask specific questions about details given
in their profile.
· Research this person online. You can do a
reverse image search with www.tineye.com
or images.google.com. You can also search for profile names, email, and phone
numbers online.
Check out the following resources for more information
about this scam.
AARP:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/romance.html?cmp=SNO-WA-TW-FRD&socialid=4487119977
Better Business Bureau:
https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/17012-bbb-tip-romance-scams
Federal Trade Commission:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-you-need-know-about-romance-scams
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