Scammers on the Rise

Online Romance Scams are on the Rise! (Statistics)

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Report 2021, 24,299 Confidence Fraud/Romance Scams were reported in 2021 with a total loss of over $956 million. The total amount scammed from victims is up by 37% from 2020 and up 50% from 2019!

How to Protect Yourself: Tips to Avoid Online Romance Scams

Be careful of what you post and share online.
Research the person’s photo and profile. Do a reverse image search on your computer to see if any matches come up.
Go slowly and ask lots of questions.
Stay on the site that you met the person on to communicate with them, do not move to another method until you feel they are real and you are safe.
Watch for the Red Flags* – is it too perfect, do they profess love too soon; promise to meet in person but that never happens?
Be careful if they ask for financial information or explicit photos- this can be used to blackmail you.
Do not send money to anyone you have only met online or by the phone.
Tell the person (if they tell you they are overseas) that you must wire to an OCS Trust account and see how fast they scramble. An OCS Trust is a suspense deposit where you can wire funds to a US Embassy or Consulate and the person who picks up the money must provide a valid ID proof of who they are to obtain the funds.
If you are a victim or suspect that the person you are talking to is a scammer report it.
Be wary if an employer asks you to form a company in order to open up a new bank account.
Never give your financial details to someone you don’t know and trust, especially if you met them online.
Be suspicious if an individual you meet on a dating websites wants to use your bank account for receiving and forwarding money.

Things Scammers Say and Do

Will immediately suggest you move off the site where you first met them and communicate through other means such as Google Hangouts/ Whatsapp, email or your phone, they will tell you it’s more private. They will remove their profile from the site where you met. They will set up another profile that you can’t see as they are prepping for their next victim.
They use VoIP phones, (voice over internet protocol), phone numbers that cannot be traced to them. They research people and places to get your interest. They also use a site called Text Now where they can create a phone number from any area code. They may even have emails from yahoo or Gmail. They are careful not to be traced.
Their profiles have two first names, their social media profiles link’s do not match the name they are using.
Use terms of endearment, professes love way too quickly
Can’t video call or camera on his/her phone doesn’t work
Ask for gift cards of iTunes cards
Needs money for medical bills
Wants your bank details
Say he/she is in the military deployed overseas
Asks for private pictures of you, will use as Blackmail
Package or items stuck in Customs, needs money to get released by paying a fee
May speak poor English or have an accent
Asks you to open a bank account for him to put money in for you
Claims to be working abroad
Will call you dear, queen or wife (you are just a client to them). They do this because they are talking to several people at one time and don’t want you call you by the wrong name. They also refer to themselves as your husband.
They want a good honest woman or man to marry, take care of their child. They will ask you to marry them.
They live in a big house, some have extravagant life styles, they promise to move to where you are but they never show up, they have lots of excuses of why they can’t meet you.
They want to know if you are married, or in a relationship, have children, what you do for a living (they need to know if you are worth scamming, worth their time). They will try to brainwash you, to move you away from family and friends, those that will tell you they are not real.
They ask questions to get as much information from you to try to work out your passwords. They keep notes, animal names, birth dates, the names of your children etc. Never tell them your passwords, bank accounts information, SSN, where you live etc.
They won’t ask you for anything in the beginning, maybe not for weeks or even months. They are building up your trust, but they are slowly making you dependent on them, moving you away from your family and friends. They are telling you lies, they will find out your weaknesses, they are throwing you the bait.
They are military, on an oil rig, construction worker, a doctor, a commodities broker, engineers or even an artist. They will claim they live overseas. If a doctor or in the military they might tell you that they are on peace keeping missions.
They are not celebrities…..celebrities are not going to reach out to you through any social media platform to become friends or more!
They will tell you outrageous stories.
They will tell you they were in a car accident, they were mugged, they need new equipment, and their child is sick, their wife or girlfriend died from cancer or other illnesses, died in childbirth or from a car accident. Their passport was stolen. Their parents are dead; they usually don’t have any family. The wife or girlfriend had a drug/alcohol problem, even a gambling problem or cheated on them. They may even have their child talk to you. There is no child….it’s another person on their team.
They ask for plane tickets or other travel expenses, pay for surgery or other medical expenses, pay customs fees to retrieve something, pay off gambling debts, pay for a visa or other official travel documents.
Their phone or laptop is broken; they cannot video chat with you. If they do video chat it’s a fake, or you won’t be able to see them.
They will ask you borrow money, to sell your possessions. They do not care what financial situation they put you in.
They will ask you to give them a google code. Never do this they will be able to change your phone and you could be liable to charges they make.
If they have children they will be in a boarding school or taken care of by a nanny. The child or nanny will need money their child’s birthday is coming up and all of a sudden their bank accounts are frozen.
They can’t get to their money, could you help them.
They want you to send money to another person or their attorney.
They will promise to pay you back, they will send photo shopped documents such as bank statement, contracts to prove their worth etc.
They will guilt you into helping them.
They will threaten to end the relationship because they should just be alone if they can’t be with you and possibly threaten suicide.
They will tell you that you don’t care or love them.
They send copies of their fake !D’s hoping to convince you that they are real. They may even send you flowers or cheap gifts.
They will use the pictures that you send them if they are working another person they will use those pictures to trap the next victim. Never send sexual or naked pictures. They will sell them or blackmail you with especially when you stop giving them money.
If you catch them they will tell you that they are the real person that someone has stolen their pictures.
Military scammers will tell you that they need money, they are not getting paid or they are hungry. They need money for a plane ticket to get home; the military will get them home. They are fed very well, they get paid, and they get to use the phone. They are feeding you lies!!!I A military man in a war zone will not have any communication with outsiders. He/she could get themselves shot or their company blown up. Cell phones can be tracked by the enemy and zeroed in on. They will not put their lives or the lives of their company in jeopardy just to be on the internet looking for love.
The same with scammers claiming to be working on an oil rig. They can call home, they can use the computer, they are getting fed, they have insurance and are paid.
They will share your information to other scammers.
They will threaten you when it’s over but they cannot do anything as long as you haven’t given them any information you shouldn’t. They won’t come to hurt you. They will disappear and start working their next client. Stop talking to them. You are only making them better; you are educating them to hurt the next person.
Once they are finished with you they will block you or change their phone number.
They buy/sell aged Facebook and lnstagram accounts to try and keep it as if they are real, as if they have been there for a while to keep a potential client from suspecting they are fake if the account is new and recently opened. See attachment
They teach others how to “yahoo”, to open fake Facebook accounts, they offer money for gift cards, bank account information etc. to scam others. They reach out to rituals, spiritual help or voodoo for success in scamming. See attachments (2)