You may be in the mood for love this Valentine’s Day, but the person behind that romantic message you just received may be looking for more than just your affection.
Experts warn that this is the peak season for online romance scams, which accounted for a staggering $1.3 billion in reported losses in 2022, the most recent figures available, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Anyone could be a target.Â
The scams often start with what looks like an innocent message through social media or an unsolicited email or text. The scammer will introduce themselves as a woman in a war-torn country or a man working on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean. It’s never anyone accessible.Â
Eventually, they’ll ask for money, often playing with their mark’s heart to get them to send the cash. They might say they need it to escape a dangerous situation, or just to buy a plane ticket to visit. Once they’ve got the money, the scammer and the victim’s dollars will just disappear.
Experts say these scams are legitimate threats, given that online dating and connecting through apps is more the norm than the exception. Meanwhile, advancements in technology, including the rollout of artificial intelligence tools, have helped scammers become more aggressive and sophisticated.Â
The rise of cryptocurrency also hasn’t helped. By design, crypto can be largely anonymous and extremely hard to trace, which generally means that if it’s stolen, it’s gone for good.
While some scammers do ask their victims to send them crypto for the same fake reasons as they do cash, an increasing number of cybercriminals are pushing fake crypto investment schemes.
The scammers portray themselves as sophisticated investors who want to help out the person they’re targeting, promising them big returns if they invest their crypto with them. People will let their guard down because they think they’re going to be the one to get something out of it.
That all may seem discouraging, but as with most kinds of online…
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