In today’s world, it can be difficult to make friends, or a romantic connection in person. Dating Apps, Social Media, and Online Forums are often an easier, and more convenient way to meet someone. As Christians, we do our best not to pass judgement and give others the ‘benefit of the doubt’ when starting a new relationship. However, there are groups of highly sophisticated criminals who are trained to exploit good will and play on emotions to ultimately reach their true goal of extorting your hard-earned money.
Criminals are working in large numbers, carrying out what’s known as ‘Romance Scams’; the fraudster(s) will scout out victims online, and initiate a friendship, or relationship to gain your trust. The fraudster may know personal details about you and will present themselves in a good light in order to ease your doubts. At first, they will be patient and appear caring or loving, they may even send you photos or videos to appear more authentic.
After the relationship becomes solidified, however, the conversations begin shifting to financial related matters. The fraudster may pressure you to…
- Invest in cryptocurrency
- Wire them funds
- Send them Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, ApplePay, or Zelle transfers
- Writing them a check, or worse, sending them a blank check
If you refuse, or show hesitation, the fraudster will begin questioning your loyalty, threaten to end the relationship, or even make threats of violence.
Sadly, these romance scams happen more often than you may think. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), people lost approximately $1.14 billion to romance scams in 2023 (Here's how to avoid romance scams, which cost consumers $1.14 billion last year. (cnbc.com).
Although there is no exhaustive list of preventative measures, the article above lists some red flags to look out for when beginning a friendship or romantic relationship with someone online, as well as some precautions which may help avoid scams:
- Unsolicited text messages: Scammers can use bots that can reach out to hundreds of people at a time through cell phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts. Some messages are as simple as “hi.” “All it takes is just for one person to take the bait”.
- Refusal to meet in person: The scammer will make excuses for not wanting to meet in real life. Yet sometimes the alternative can occur: The scammer might ask for money for travel expenses to come out and meet you.
- Isolation attempts: If the scammer discourages you from talking to family or friends of the new romantic interest.
Preventative measures:
- Reverse search the image: Use reverse-search tools for images online to verify the images the potential scammer is using.
- Look at your privacy settings: Be mindful of the information that you share on social media.
- If you meet someone, take your time: Make sure to ask questions about their background. Keep track of what they say and look for inconsistencies.
- Avoid financial transactions: Do not send financial information or funds to the person at first ask. Talk to family, friends, trusted advisors and bankers about the situation.
- Meet at a public spot: Ask to meet them in person in a public spot or close to a police station. If they act “sketchy”, “you have your answer.”
America’s Christian Credit Union is here to help, if you feel that you have been a victim of a romance scam, please call us at (800) 343-6328. You should also report any fraudulent profiles to the platform they’re using and report the incident to the FTC http://www.reportfraud.ftc.gov. If the situation has escalated, you should involve the FBI (https://complaint.ic3.gov) and your local law enforcement agency.
Support for victims of romance scams is available at https://fightcybercrime.org/programs/romance-scam-recovery-group.