Love -- and scams -- in the air on Valentine's Day
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Breaking hearts and bank accounts.
As we prepare to celebrate Valentine’s Day, scammers are on the prowl, and not for romance.
“And, you know, these scams, we hear it all the time – they can be particularly painful because not only are you out the money but you also are being betrayed by this person who you thought once, you know, as a friend,” Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio President Judy Dollison said.
If you find yourself falling head over heels, make sure you aren't falling victim to a scam.
Dollison said romance scams are still stealing hearts and thousands of dollars from central Ohioans.
“In 2022, we had 13 scams, with $17,500 in losses,” she said. “Last year, we had we had seven scams, but had $23,000 in losses. So it is, it continues to be a big scam. We see it every year.”
Those scammers target people on social media or dating sites.
"They want to build a relationship with you,” Dollison said. “So, it can be months in the making, and they, they oftentimes, you know, they profess their love to you, and you start maybe falling in love with them."
Once they’ve got a victim on the hook, the scammers start pursuing their real goal: the money.
"They have a problem that they need financial assistance with in order to help them get through it so they could come meet you,” Dollison said.
Instead, once they get the cash, all communication stops, and the victim is left with nothing to show for it.
The same goes for a new variation on the traditional tactics that the BBB is warning of this year.
"It's when a scammer is offering you to become your sugar daddy or sugar mama,” Dollison said. “And they offer to pay you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in exchange for, like, a weekly allowance.”
However, the money they send doesn’t exist.
One scam victim told the BBB, “I believed that these checks were legit and the funds were real. I ended up just sending my own personal money to these contacts, which ended up costing me $19,500.”
Dollison said when it comes to these types of scams, there are a lot of red flags to look for:
- Someone reaching out to you from out of the blue
- Professing their love quickly
- Constantly bringing up the importance of trust.
“That’s a red flag and when they try to meet you, but they can never meet you,” Dollison said. “Always a big red flag. If they're asking for money upfront, if they're asking for money to deposit into your bank account. Those are all red flags that we see very common to these scams.”
If you think you’re being targeted by a romance scammer, Dollison said to cut off all contact immediately.