Romance scams
What is Romance fraud?
There are many different types of scams, but generally, scams involve the scammer trying to influence the victim. The goal is to persuade the target and convince them to give or send money or gifts to the scammer. These scams often start on platforms like Tinder and other dating sites.
Romance scams can be devastating for victims. In addition to losing money and valuables, victims often become depressed, feel overwhelmed, and may have difficulty building trust in the long term. This type of fraud is fierce and can leave lasting effects on those involved.
How to Avoid Romance Scams
- Be Careful What You Share Online Public Opinion: Romance scammers can use social media to target themselves better and learn more about them, then use that information to their advantage.
- Be careful of people in the chat room who ask you to communicate directly instead of chatting.
- Take your time, and feel free to meet or send information once you're ready
- Check the person's picture and name to see if they are used elsewhere online.
- Do not send money or gifts to people you only interact with online.
- Do not send content or images that will be used to blackmail you in the future.
- If this person says they want to meet you but always makes excuses or eventually backs out, consider this a red flag.
FAQs
Unfortunately, yes. Romance scams cause more losses each year than any other FTC scam.
Dating websites and apps are frequently used, but scammers also create fake accounts on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook, to lure victims. In the second case, the scammer may send you a friend request or negative messages, perhaps asking you to know other friends or go to the same school as you.
In these types of scams, the scammer will convince people that they have a “good relationship” and that they should get married as soon as possible so that more people can get married. The feature is valid. If the victim agrees, the scammer will try to persuade them to send a large sum to cover the cost of airfare and relocation.