Over 300 Idahoans lost over $2 million to romance scams in 2022, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. These scammers will reach out through dating apps or social media and attempt to gain your trust and form a romantic connection. They will often be using fake photos and have excuses for why they cannot meet in person. Eventually they will approach you asking for money or banking information. Here are some tips to avoid falling victim to these scams:
- Keep your guard up. If a new romantic interest suddenly starts asking for money or encourages you to start investing, be cautious. Do not send money to anyone you have not met in person and be cautious about sharing personal or financial information.
- Don’t trust, verify! Do online searches to get a better idea of who the person you are dealing with is and what they do. Most people have an online presence these days, which includes personal and professional information. Fake online profiles tend to lack information about an individual, and the images used in an activity feed may feel impersonal or staged. Scammers often use stolen images from real people or stock images, so it’s good to do online image searches to check the origin and use of the image.
- Be careful what you post and make public online. Scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to better understand and target you.
- Go slowly and ask lots of questions.
- Beware if the individual promises to meet in person but then always comes up with an excuse why they can’t. If you haven’t met the person after a few months, for whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious.
- Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to communicate directly.
For more information, check out:
FBI Romance Scams Article
Idaho Department of Finance Romance Scams Consumer Alert