Categories: News

Romance scams: How to avoid issues when you’re looking for love | #datingscams | #lovescams


Valentine’s Day is just right around the corner and love is in the air.

But, if you are in the market for romance, you need to be careful and take steps to protect yourself, according to the Alabama Securities Commission.

“Finding a significant other online is becoming more and more commonplace. The issue is that scammers flock to these platforms to tug on the heart and purse strings of individuals looking for love,” said ASC Director Joseph P. Borg.

According to the FBI, consumers lost more than $133.4 million to romance scams in the first months of 2021 alone. Most of the scams include a fraudster creating a fake profile on a dating or social media website to initiate a romantic relationship with another user. Once they have gained the user’s trust, they will ask for money to pay for a supposed medical or other emergency. The fraudster will continue the relationship as long as the victim keeps sending their money.

To protect your heart – and your wallet – ASC is offering some safety tips:

1. Never give out personal financial information over the phone, on social media or by email.

2. The red flags that someone is a potential romance scammer include: numerous spelling errors, someone who quickly professes their love, someone who claims to be a U.S. citizen working in a foreign country needing money for an emergency, and someone eager to move your conversation off the platform.

3. If you are considering a potential new love interest, investigate their digital footprint. If they are using stock photos, it’s likely a con artist.

4. If someone wants you to send them payment via gift card, green dot card or any other way using instantly transferable funds, it is seldom legitimate. Plus, most online dating platforms have strict rules about user-to-user money transfers.

5. Always get a second opinion about a love interest. Family and friends are best at seeing our blind spots, particularly where romance is concerned.

6. Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person. Even if they claim to need the money for travel expenses to visit you.



Click Here For Original Source.

. . . . . . .

admin

Share
Published by
admin

Recent Posts

Crypto Fraud on Rise Again, Here’s Why — TradingView News | #datingscams | #lovescams

Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued fresh warnings about cryptocurrencies amid Bitcoin's surge to a…

4 days ago

My aunt has fallen in love with a scammer | #ukscams | #datingscams | #european

Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear…

5 days ago

Hundreds rescued from love scam centre in the Philippines | #philippines | #philippinesscams | #lovescams

By Virma Simonette & Kelly Ngin Manila and Singapore14 March 2024Image source, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime…

5 days ago

Locals alerted of online dating scams | #daitngscams | #lovescams

Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and…

5 days ago

‘Ancestral spirits’ scam: Fake sangomas fleece victims of millions | #daitngscams | #lovescams

Reports of suicides, missing bodies, sexual kompromat and emptied bank accounts as fake sangomas con…

5 days ago

SA woman loses R1.6m to Ugandan lover | #daitngscams | #lovescams

A South African woman has been left with her head in her hands after she…

5 days ago