The FBI is putting out alarm bells this Valentine’s Day about the prevalence of romance scams, reports the Spanish language news outlet La Opinión, warning people about the risks of searching for love on the internet.
Romance scams cost victims some $27 million in 2023, according to a report from the FBI’s San Francisco office on Tuesday, with people aged 60 or older making up a majority of those ensnared. Those most at risk of these crimes are women over the age of 40, widowed, divorced, elderly or disabled, according to the FBI.
Figures from 2022 show the FBI received some 19,000 reports of romance scams nationwide, representing a loss of $740 million. The figures are likely higher, La Opinión notes, given that many victims often don’t report when they have been scammed.
Not surprisingly, romance scams proliferate during Valentine’s Day.
Typically a scammer will create a false online identity to lure in potential victims. They then work to establish a relationship as quickly as possible to build trust. As the relationship grows, the scammer may offer to meet in person. In some cases, they may even propose marriage, all with the intention of eventually requesting money most commonly under the guise of legal or medical issues.
The FBI warned people seeking romantic relationships online to be vigilant and to follow recommendations put out by authorities.
According to authorities, scammers use emails and text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers or Social Security number. If they get that information, they could access your email account, bank account or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers.
It is estimated that every day, fraudsters launch thousands of phishing attacks like these, and they are often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but there are some common tactics used in phishing emails and text messages.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2023 people lost $10 billion to scams. That’s $1 billion more than in 2022 and the highest loss figure ever reported, although the number of reports (2.6 million) was about the same as the previous year. One in four people reported losing money to scams, with an average loss per person of $500.
In this past year, email was the primary method of contact for scammers, especially when scammers posed as a business or government agency to steal money.
