Federal, state, and nonprofit agencies throughout the country this month are alerting people to the dangers of online relationship scams and financial fraud.
The “Dating or Defrauding?” campaign cautions Americans to be skeptical of any request from online acquaintances for cryptocurrency, gift cards, wire transfers, or other forms of payment.
Other warning signs of a potential romance scam include:
- A prolonged inability to meet in-person.
- Moving conversations off social or dating platforms to encrypted messaging apps.
- Repeated suggestions for investments or requests for money.
“It feels like we see a new variation on financial scams aimed to rob people of their hard-earned money nearly every day,” Charlie Clark, director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions or DFI, said in a statement.
Relationship investment scams are a recent type of romance fraud, causing reported losses to the FBI of nearly $4 billion in 2023. Called “pig butchering” by the perpetrators, criminals use dating apps, social media platforms, messaging apps, and even random “wrong number” text messages to target possible victims.
The DFI recommends consumers watch out for these red flags:
The scammers are known to use fake profiles, images, videos, and voices to make themselves appear attractive and professional, and once introduced, they send frequent messages to build relationships.
These new online “friends” claim to have made a lot of money trading cryptocurrency, precious metals, or foreign currency, thanks to special knowledge or insider help. The scammers talk about how easy it is and offer to help victims earn extra money.
Victims are then directed to fraudulent trading platforms operated by the same organized criminal gangs.
These scams don’t discriminate and have victimized people of all ages, Clark said. People who live alone or spend a lot of time on social media or in discussion groups tend to be more vulnerable to fraud.
Scams work because they appeal to unmet needs or emotions, such as financial stress, excitement, or fear.
“The good news is that awareness can reduce victimization,” he said.
Sharing information could help protect those closest to you.
Scary how many scammers are out there. We have to be constantly vigilant.
It’s awful, how older people are taken advantage of.
Yes, so much education is needed on this. Older people lose so much money to scammers. We must always be vigilant and help others on this.
So sad that so many people are taken in by scammers. Doesn’t give you a lot of faith in people.
Unfortunately, law enforcement doesn’t give this a lot of priority. Republicans complain about regulations, but even before Trump began reducing the size of government, this is one big area where there isn’t enough enforcement and attention.