Romantic love is one of the few experiences all of us share. It can bring meaning to our lives and give us a sense of direction. But scammers recognize this, too. Many try to take advantage of the value we place on romance through various romance scams.
This article takes a closer look at the problem of romance scams, while highlighting some steps you can take today to keep yourself (and your bank account) safe. Keep reading to learn more.
A romance scam is a type of fraud that involves a fake romantic relationship. People have lost millions of dollars to online dating scams for money. The total amount lost is well over $1 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
In this type of scam, the perpetrator may ask lots of questions and send explicit photos to make the victim believe they’ve entered into a love or lust-based relationship. Then the scammer exploits that trust to steal the other person’s money or personal details to later commit identity theft.
Romance scams are doubly tragic because of this. Victims of them lose both their money and the happiness they had when they believed the relationship was real.
The first step in avoiding romance scams is recognizing the different ways these scams occur. We highlight five of the most common romance scammer tactics below, but you may want to review our other guide on common scams to stay safe.
Romance scams are often perpetrated by people claiming to be military personnel. This creates a natural justification for not being able to FaceTime or visit the other person. It also gives the scammer a believable reason to ask their victim for international money transfers.
After developing a relationship, the scammer will eventually claim they need financial assistance. They may say they’re in a combat zone and can’t access their accounts or just that they’ve run out of money for the month. Either way, they’ll request that you lend them some cash until they can pay you back, then delete their scammer profiles soon after.
Lovers share a variety of intimate messages, photos, and videos with one another. Scammers try to solicit intimate photos and other content to take advantage of this. Once they get them, they threaten to make the material public unless you pay a ransom.
Some fraudsters try to use this scam even when they have no connection to potential victims. They might send an intimidating email claiming to have damage or embarrassing content of you.
Inheritance scams can also involve building a fake romantic relationship with a victim. Once a level of trust is established, the fraudster may begin talking about a large inheritance they’re about to receive.
Eventually, this transitions to the scammer asking their victim for money. They may say they need cash now to buy a plane ticket or pay taxes on the inheritance, then offer to pay you once they receive the money. This, of course, never happens. Romance scam victims who pay lose their money and are usually not able to get it back.
A sense of sudden, urgent financial need is a common thread that runs through many romance scams. Medical emergency scams are another version of that strategy.
These involve a scammer building a relationship with a victim to gain trust. Then, at some point, they tell the person that they or someone in their family has medical expenses they can’t pay. They may even say they won’t be able to get treatment until they have enough money.
The scammer hopes their victim will send them the cash they request without thinking too deeply about the situation. The sense of urgency is a calculated move designed to deceive.
Travel scams are another way that a fraudster may try to use a relationship to get money out of a victim. These can take a variety of forms but often involve requesting cash for a plane ticket to come visit the other person.
For example, after a lengthy online-only relationship, the scammer may say they’re ready to meet in person. But when the time comes to purchase a plane ticket, they could say that they don’t have enough money and ask their victim to help pay.
There are two ways to virtually guarantee you won’t become a victim of romance scammers.Â
The first is to not form romantic relationships with people you only know online. You could still meet new people on apps or the internet but would insist on either a video call or face-to-face meeting within the first week. That way, you’re not building a relationship and potentially making yourself vulnerable until you know the person is legitimate.
The other option is to make a rule that you’ll never send money to someone you only know online. This would allow you to continue forming relationships with new people without risking your finances. The challenge would be sticking to your word even if you form what appears to be a wonderful new relationship with someone you meet online.
Besides those options, you can take another look at the romance scams outlined in this article and their common warning signs so you know what to watch for. You can also review our guide to online safety to learn more about keeping yourself safe online.
It’s also worth learning how to run a reverse image search. These can help you find other romance scammer photos and scam stories so you don’t fall victim to the same romance scam red flags others have experienced already.
Unfortunately, romance scams are just one type of fraud you need to watch out for while using the internet. That’s why it’s so important to bank with a company that has robust account security measures in place.
Fidelity Bank could be just what you’re looking for. We offer powerful security and access control measures to keep your money safe. From multi-factor authentication to transaction alerts, we make it easier to live your life online without having to worry so much.
Want to learn more? Schedule an appointment with a banker and we’ll tell you how we can help.
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