Whether celebrating a relationship or longing for something more, Valentine’s Day has a way of turning our heads and hearts to finding that special someone. In today’s world, it is perfectly acceptable to go looking through online dating sites, social media, and mobile apps in search of love. While these sites and apps can be a great place to meet people, it is important to recognize that not everyone is who they say they are online.
The FBI tells us that reports of romance scams have grown from around 5,000 in 2012 to nearly 15,000 in 2016 with reported losses of $220 million. Today there are an estimated 25,000 romance scammers online worldwide, according to one cybersecurity expert. Between 5 percent and 25 percent of online daters could be fakes or scammers, says another.
So the question becomes, how to protect yourself and yet feel free to find that special someone online? Here’s a few tips.
The first is to check the person’s photo using Google’s “search by image,” feature. If the same picture shows up elsewhere with a different name attached to it, that’s a sign a scammer may have stolen it. Next, be wary of flirtatious and overly complimentary emails. Copy and paste the text into a search engine and see whether the same words show up on websites devoted to exposing romance scams. Finally, take it slowly. Ask the person lots of questions and look for inconsistencies that might reveal an impostor.
It’s also a good idea to be weary if someone you are chatting with wants to immediately leave the dating website and use a personal email or IM; professes love too quickly; claims to be from the US but is traveling overseas; and if the person asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, losses from a financial setback).
We also recommend doing a self-check of where you are in your own life before talking online. AARP’s 2019 survey results suggested scammers tend to succeed when their target is someone has recently experienced a major life event, such as a change in financial status or family relationship problems.
Even the US military is being pulled into these scams. According to a story written by Katherine Skiba for AARP, hundreds of times a day, women here and overseas complain about being scammed by con artists posing as U.S. service members, according to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. In her story, Skiba quotes Chris Grey, spokesman, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, as saying typically a swindle starts with a scam artist stealing a service member’s name and photos from various sites online, and it advances to requesting money from the fake love interest for some phony, dire need.
According to Grey, there’s an easy step to avoid getting swept off your feet by a military impostor: If you’re on a dating site or app with someone claiming to wear this country’s uniform, ask to be sent an email from his or her military account. It will not end in .com or .org, but in .mil. Privates to generals all have such emails, Grey says. And don’t fall for the “I’m on a secret mission, “ or “I don’t have a computer,” line, either. He recommends not sending money, especially if it is to someone asking you mail something to an African Country, or for what is purported to be a service member’s transportation, medical, or communications fees.
We hope you find that someone special, but do warn, that 17 percent of those asked in our 2019 online romance survey said they or someone they know have been the victim of an online romance scam, so keep yourself safe.
AARP Wyoming wants to remind you to take advantage of the AARP FraudWatch Network Helpline at 1-877-908-3360 if you have questions or think a loved one has been a victim of this or other scams. The help is free.
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