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…
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:
Preventative measures:
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.