What’s worse being heart broken or broke? How about both. According to The Federal Trade Commission, romance scams have climbed to record highs in recent years. In North Carolina, 539 victims lost $17.3 million to romance scams in 2021. That’s an average loss of $32,194 per victim.
WRAL 5 On Your Side had the rare chance to speak with a reformed romance scammer. The Nigerian man, who goes by the name Chris, now works with investigative company Social Catfish to warn others against scammers.
In speaking with 5 On Your Side, Chris admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting women. He tells WRAL News that it was a woman in her 60s that made him finally stop.
“I felt this guilty conscience,” he explained from an unreliable WiFi connection. “I needed to be open with her because I would not want someone to do that to my mom.”
He gave advice on ways to spot a romance scammer.
1-They seem too good to be true. Scammers steal photos of attractive and successful looking people and create fake online accounts to lure you in. Perform a reverse image search to see if their picture matches their name. If the photo is used on many dating apps using different names, it is a scam.
2-They fall in love having never met you. Regardless of how strong your online chat game is, it is unlikely someone will genuinely fall in love without spending time with you. Stop communicating with anyone who will not meet or video chat in a reasonable amount of time.
3- They ask for money, crypto or gift cards. The biggest red flag of all is when a person whom you have never met starts asking for money. Frequent reasons include problems with the bank account, medical emergencies or they need the money so they can come visit you.
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