With today being Valentine’s Day, many people will take to the web in an attempt to find love by using a dating website. While this is a fun way to meet new people, these sites are rife with fraudsters who use affection to manipulate their victims out of their money. In February 2018, the Better Business Bureau issued an in-depth investigative study on romance scams, describing how fraudsters target people who are looking for romance. Romance scammers typically contact their victims through dating websites, apps or social media, often using fake profiles and even stolen credit card information. Using these false identifies, scammers may spend months grooming their victims, building what the victim believes to be a loving relationship, before asking for money to handle an emergency or travel expenses. As a general rule of thumb, it is wise to not send anyone money that you have not met in person, and always be wary of friendships, or relationships formed in an online setting.
