Millions of people use dating apps and social media to meet and interact with others. Scammers are utilizing the popularity of these services to prey on vulnerable people. Every year thousands of people lose their life savings to romance scams. Not only do people lose money, they also take a large psychological toll. Scammers are constantly getting better at using psychological tricks to improve their tactics, resulting in victims not knowing what is happening until it’s too late.
There are warning signs everyone should be aware of to avoid romance scams. They may instantly want to start communicating off the platform you met. They may avoid voice and video calls in order to conceal their identity. They will often begin discussing finances (investment opportunities, cryptocurrency schemes, etc.) or have an emergency early on into meeting.
According to the FTC, here are some lies a romance scammer may tell you:
- Scammers say they can’t meet you in person. They might say they’re living or traveling outside the country, working on an oil rig, in the military, or working with an international organization.
- Scammers will ask you for money. Once they gain your trust, they’ll ask for your help to pay medical expenses (for them or a family member), buy their ticket to visit you, pay for their visa, or help them pay fees to get them out of trouble. They may even offer to help you get started in cryptocurrency investing.
- Scammers will tell you how to pay. All scammers, not just romance scammers, want to get your money quickly. And they want your money in a way that makes it hard for you to get it back. They’ll tell you to wire money through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram, put money on gift cards (like Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, or Steam) and give them the PIN codes, send money through a money transfer app, or transfer cryptocurrency.
And if you suspect someone might be a romance scammer,
- Stop communicating with the person immediately.
- Talk to someone you trust. Do your friends or family say they’re concerned about your new love interest?
- Search online for the type of job the person has plus the word “scammer.” Have other people posted similar stories? For example, search for “oil rig scammer” or “US Army scammer.”
- Do a reverse image search of the person’s profile picture. Is it associated with another name or with details that don’t match up? Those are signs of a scam.
Report a romance scam.
If you paid a romance scammer with a gift card, wire transfer, credit or debit card, or cryptocurrency, contact the company or your bank right away. Tell them you paid a scammer and ask them to refund your money.
If you think it’s a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Notify the social networking site or app where you met the scammer, too.
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