You join a dating app and start messaging with someone who looks amazing. They are the complete package: good-looking, successful, kind… and, most importantly, really into you, too! After chatting for a little while, your new love interest suggests that you chat on text or email, rather than through the app. If you do that, you may notice that they also delete their dating profile.
Everything seems great, but soon your new beau has some unusual – but seemingly harmless – requests. They want you to receive money for them and wire it overseas. They may claim to be helping a loved one battling COVID-19, doing a business deal, or representing a charitable organization. If you refuse, your amorous new beau may suddenly get hostile, threaten you or grow distant.
It turns out that the money they want you to receive is actually stolen. After stealing it, scammers send the money through someone in the United States or Canada to make it harder for authorities to trace. Money laundering and wire fraud are illegal! Although the “money mule” is a victim, too, they may still face prosecution.
Protect yourself from this scam:
For more information
Find more information in this romance scams study from BBB and these romance scam tips.
Learn more about money mule scams on the Federal Bureau of Investigations website and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
If you’ve been the victim of scam, please report it on the BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report can help others to stay alert and avoid similar scams.
Learn more about BBB’s Standards for Trust.
Click Here For The Original Source
Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…
Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…
By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…
Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…
Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…
A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…