Romance scammers aren’t out for love, they’re out for your money
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – You’ve seen the candy, flowers and heart-shaped goods at the store, which means Valentine’s Day is around the corner, but the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it also means to look out for romance scams.
Scammers will pretend to be potential love interests that you may meet on dating apps or social media. They’ll quickly try to get their victims off the platform to talk over email or text and just as quickly form a friendship that they’ll soon say is love.
“They talk about trust,” said Judy Dollison, the president and CEO of the BBB of Central and Southeast Ohio. “They want you to know how much trust is important to them and they really are trying to establish this connection with you, that they trust you, so that when they ask you for money or they give you this crypto investment that you will feel like ‘wow this person really trusts me, I have to show that I trust them as well.'”
These romance scammers will say they are offering you an investment opportunity through Bitcoin because they want you to have the same financial success they have, while others will claim to be facing a financial burden that a loved one should be happy to help pay for.
“At the end of the day, if they say they’re going to meet you in person, they don’t, and they often times will have a repeated attempt that they will try to meet you in person and have a repeated request for money for solving whatever problem that pops up that they’re not able to come and meet you,” Dollison said. “So, the hard luck stories will just start and they’ll continue going as long as you continue to give them money.”
The BBB recommends that you 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 and cut off contact if someone starts asking you for information like credit card, bank, or government ID numbers. You can find more tips on how to protect yourself from various scams by visiting BBB.org.
