(Photo: Courtesy MGN Image)
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, which means the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is ramping up efforts to warn folks about the latest romance scams.
Between the evolution of technology and the coronavirus pandemic, single adults are embracing online dating to find love. However, before you swipe right, the BBB says you need to know to whom you are speaking.
Most romance scams start with fake profiles on online dating sites created by stealing photos and text from real accounts or elsewhere. Scammers often claim to be in the military or working overseas to explain why they can’t meet you in person. Over a short period of time, the scammer builds a fake relationship with you, exchanging photos and romantic messages, even talking on the phone or through a webcam.
Just when the relationship seems to be getting serious, your new sweetheart has a health issue or family emergency, or wants to plan a visit. No matter the story, the request is the same: they need money. But after you send money, there’s another request, and then another. Or the scammer stops communicating altogether.
Better Business Bureau
In a “catfishing” scam, the BBB says con artists create compelling backstories and full-fledged identities before tricking you into falling for someone who doesn’t exist.
While some catfishers are just lonely people hiding behind phony personas, the BBB warns catfishing is often the first step in a phishing scheme to steal personal information or a romance scam to get money from you, even tricking you into moving illegal money from other scams, which may be a crime.
Catfishing happens quite a lot in this part of the Commonwealth. So far in 2022, the BBB says they’ve seen four reports of these scams in western Virginia.
Here are some red flags to help you spot romance scams:
- Too hot to be true: Scammers offer up good-looking photos and tales of financial success, but be honest with yourself about who would be genuinely interested. If they seem “too perfect,” your alarm bells should ring.
- In a hurry to get off the site: Catfishers will quickly encourage you to communicate via email, a messenger service, or phone rather than the website where you met.
- Moving fast: Catfishers will begin talking about your future together and tell you they love you quickly, often saying they’ve never felt this way before.
- Talk about trust: Catfishers will start manipulating you with discussions about the importance of trust, which will often be a first step to asking you for money.
- Don’t want to meet: Be wary of someone who always has an excuse to postpone meetings because they are reportedly traveling, living overseas, or serving in the military.
- Suspicious language: If the person you are communicating with claims to be from your hometown, but has poor spelling or grammar, uses overly flowery language, or uses phrases that don’t make sense, that’s a red flag.
- Hard luck stories: Before moving on to asking you for money, a scammer may hint at financial troubles –like heat being cut off, a stolen car, or a sick relative — or they may share a sad story from their past, such as the death of a parent or spouse.
Once you spot these warning signs, there are several ways you can turn the tables on scam artists:
- Never send money or personal information that can be used for identity theft to someone you’ve never met in person.
- Never give someone your credit card information to book a ticket to visit you.
- Cut off contact if someone starts asking you for information like credit card, bank, or government ID numbers.
- Ask specific questions about the details in their profile. A scammer may stumble over remembering details or making a story fit.
- Do your research.
- Many scammers steal photos from the web to use in their profiles. You can do a reverse image lookup using a site like tineye.com or images.google.com to see if the photos on a profile are stolen from somewhere else.
- You can search online for a profile name, email, or phone number to see what adds up and what doesn’t.
“Slow down, talk to your friends and family, and step back from it, and don’t lose your common sense. Love is that time in our life where yes, we do become kind of silly and throw caution to the wind,” said Julie Wheeler, President, and CEO of BBB Serving Western Virginia. “In this particular case, you want to make sure that it’s time to throw caution to the wind, and be careful.”
According to the BBB, people ages 20 to 29 are the most frequently-targeted group for romance. However, the group who reported money lost were those ages 40 to 69.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to looking for love online. The BBB says seven in 10 couples found success in online dating.
For more information on romance scams, click here. You can also follow this link to check out more scams related to Valentine’s Day.
