(Omaha, NE) -- As we approach Valentine’s Day, FBI Omaha has a warning for people looking for love on online.
The FBI says scammers will use poetry, flowers, and other gifts to reel in their victims, all while declaring their “undying love.” In 2022, the FBI says more than 19,000 victims of romance fraud in the U.S. reported more than 700-million dollars in losses.
Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust, then they ask for money. These con artists are present on most dating and social media sites. They are experts at what they do and will seem genuine, caring, and believable. The scammers will use stories of severe life circumstances, tragedies, deaths in the family, injuries to themselves, or other hardships to keep their victims concerned and involved in their schemes. The FBI says these are all lies intended to take money from unsuspecting victims.
In another scheme, scammers ask victims to receive funds in the form of a cashier’s check, money order, or wire transfer, claiming they are out of the country and unable to cash the instruments or receive the funds directly. The scammers ask victims to redirect the funds to them or to an associate to whom they owe money. In these scams, victims risk losing money and may incur other expenses, such as bank fees and penalties. In some instances, they face prosecution as a money mule.
Individuals who are looking for love and companionship are the target victims of this online fraud. The FBI says people in all demographics can fall victim. Criminals target men and women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, elderly, or disabled. The scam usually starts with an “innocent” contact online and builds from there.
The FBI says those who engage in online dating should be mindful of these schemes and exercise good judgement before sending money to people they meet online. If you develop a romantic online relationship, consider the following warning signs:
- The individual presses you to leave the dating website where you met to communicate solely through email or instant messaging.
- Only use dating websites with national reputations but assume that con artists are trolling even the most reputable dating and social media sites.
- Go slow and ask questions.
- Research the individual’s pictures and profile using other online search tools to ensure someone else’s profile was not spoofed, or that the same pitch is not being used on multiple victims at once.
- The individual asks you for money. Never send money to someone you met online and have not met in person.
- It may take weeks or months to get to the point where they ask for money, but they will ask.
- The money is always desperately needed; there’s always some urgent need, and then another, and another, with promises to pay you back soon, but that never happens.
If you suspect an online relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately. If you are the victim of a romance scam, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov and contact the FBI Omaha field office at 402-493-8688.