Common Romance Scams in 2024
With Valentine’s Day approaching, it is important to be wary of Romance or Love Scams. In a romance scam, scammers target individuals by creating a fake online persona through social media, email, or other means. Those scammers then make romantic advances on the targeted individuals. The scammer will then attempt to emotionally connect with the victim to gain their trust, allowing them to either ask or blackmail the victim for money. These scams can appear in a variety of ways; below are some of the most frequent examples:
Photo Scams
A photo scam takes place when a scammer tries to convince their victim to send over sensitive personal information in exchange for intimate photos from the scammer. A reverse of this is also known to occur when a scammer coerces the victim to send intimate images; upon receiving these photos, the scammer will then use them as leverage to blackmail the victim. If your online love interest seems insistent on obtaining your personal information or sends continuous requests for intimate photos, particularly ones that include your face, it is vital to recognize these signs as red flags.
Fake Dating Website Scams
Online dating has exploded in popularity in recent years, with online dating app users increasing by over 100 million between 2015 and 2022. With such rapid growth come many new apps and websites looking to capitalize on this growing market. While some of these upstarts are trying to help you find love, others are scammers looking to manipulate victims and steal their information. These scams involve creating a website under the guise of a typical dating website. However, the user base is either full of scammers who will pry victims for information or the user base is incredibly small so the scammer can steal any info they can get when victims “register” for the site. Reminder, it is important to vet any website before signing up and offering personal information.
Military Romance Scams
Scammers will also try to manipulate victims by impersonating members of the military. These scams revolve around creating a compelling fake military persona and convincing victims they require financial assistance. In this scam, scammers will use a high volume of military-related terms and offer an official title or rank to gain the victim’s trust. They will then claim they need money to cover certain expenses. The most common request for funds is for “flights home” or even flights to visit the victim. In both scenarios, the scammer will simply pocket the money, make an excuse about how they couldn’t come home, and continue to ask for money from the victim. When exploring a relationship with anyone online, it is of the utmost importance to verify that they are who they say they are; failure to do so can lead to catastrophic financial consequences.
These are just a few examples of Romance Scams; many more methods exist, and more will come in the future. Protecting yourself and staying aware of how and when you could become a target is more crucial than ever. Scammers use any leverage they can get their hands on, and unfortunately, emotionally vulnerable individuals are a common target. Love is in the air around this time of year, don’t get caught up dreaming only to wake up in a nightmare.
Source: Business of Apps & Norton
