Better Business Bureau recently released a new study revealing that an estimated 1 million Americans have been victimized in romance fraud scams with losses nearing $1 billion over the last three years.
The study – “Online Romance Scams: A Better Business Bureau Study on How Scammers Use Impersonation, Blackmail and Trickery to Steal from Unsuspecting Daters” – says the scheme can take a number of months to play out as the scammer gains the victim’s trust. The scammer eventually will ask for small amounts of money to feel out the victim. Victims often turn into unknowing accomplices of money laundering. Among the report’s key findings:
• There is no “typical” victim of romance fraud. The common denominator is that they are seeking a loving relationship, and they believe they have found it.
• Scammers often portray themselves as U.S. military members. Military officials say they receive thousands of complaints yearly from scam victims around the world.
• The majority of romance fraud has its home in West Africa, particularly Nigeria. There also are groups that operate in Russia and the Ukraine that employ online dating sites to defraud victims.
• At any one time, there may be 25,000 scammers online working with victims. A company that screens profiles for dating companies told BBB that 500,000 of the 3.5 million profiles it scans monthly are fake. BBB offers the following tips for daters to avoid being caught in a romance scam:
• Protect your identity and your wallet. Scammers prefer prepaid cards and money transfers. Never send money or any personal information to someone you’ve never met in person.
• Think before going from public to private. Be hesitant if the conversation moves from a monitored site like social media or a dating site to a more private form of communication like email or instant messaging. This strategy might be a way for the scammer to draw you in without other people interfering.
• Do your research. Pour over the profile image and description. If it sounds too good to be true, verify it. You can perform a reverse image search to see if the profile photo has been used on other websites. You can also copy a portion of their biography and search to see if it’s been used on other sites. Scammers often use the same profile details and photos on multiple sites.
• Pay attention to communication. Be wary of bad grammar and misspelled words. No one is perfect, but if mistakes often are repeated, it may suggest they aren’t from where they claim.
Start with Trust® To view the entire study, visit us.bbb.org/romancescamstudy.
~ Shelley Polansky, VP/Marketing, Communications & Outreach