Beware: dating app Valentine’s phonies on the prowl!

FTC: romance frauds #1 costliest scams

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Love may be priceless, but online romance scams can come at a high cost.

The FTC says in 2021 alone, there were over 23,000 reported cases of romance scams in the United States, resulting in a staggering loss of more than $605 million…making romance scams the costliest type of fraud reported to the FTC.

If you’re thinking of starting online dating, the Better Business Bureau cautions you to always double-check you’re talking to a potential match and not a scammer.

Look for red flags such as an immediate strong approach, only one or two pictures on a profile, vagueness about personal details, and no intention to meet in person.

The biggest red flag to look out for is a request for money. The BBB says In many cases one request for money turns into an ongoing scam.

BBB Director of Strategic Marketing Whitney Adkins explained, “They’ll tell you a sob story or sometimes they’ll they’ll try the line of, ‘Hey, I’d love to come see you,’ and they need help paying for a plane ticket… They’re going to continue to try to get more money out of you until the victim eventually catches on that this isn’t a legitimate relationship.”

Adkins says one way you can check for romance scammers is by reverse searching their profile pictures online.