This Valentines Day, Attorney General Kris Mayes is reminding Arizonans of all ages to protect themselves from romance scams. Tens of thousands of Arizonans use social media and online dating sites hoping to meet someone, but instead of finding romance, they meet a scammer trying to trick them out of money.
“We all love love—but often, the person at the other end of the app or website is really a romance scammer trying to take advantage of your trust and your savings,” said Attorney General Mayes. “Scammers are very good at earning trust and then exploiting that trust to convince victims to send them money. I urge Arizonans to learn the warning signs of romance scammers to protect yourself and your bank account. My office is here to help if you or your family members have been a victim of one of these scams.”
Romance scammers create fake online profiles and search through dating apps, dating sites, and social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram looking for victims. They work quickly to build a trusting relationship with you, sometimes chatting or calling several times a day, and will seem caring and believable. Then, they lie about their circumstances and ask for money.
Topping the list of lies told by romance scammers is that they need money because a friend or relative is sick, hurt, or in jail, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Other commonly reported lies include the scammer having great investment advice to share with their newfound romantic interest, or that the scammer was in the military, or needed help making some sort of important delivery.
Warning signs:
- Someone who is quick to profess their love.
- Someone who pretends to be a hero, such as a soldier, in a faraway place.
- Someone who continuously makes plans to meet in person but never follows through.
- Someone who makes a sudden request for money to deal with an emergency.
- Someone who asks you to wire them money, put money onto gift cards and give them the PIN codes, or send them money through a money transfer app or cryptocurrency.
- Do not send money, including wiring funds, gift cards or cryptocurrency to a stranger or someone you just met on a dating app or social media platform.
- Be careful when sharing personal information on social media platforms. Scam artists use details shared on social media platforms to better target victims.
- Watch for inconsistencies in a person’s story or lack of information about their background.
- Talk to family and friends if you are unsure about someone.
- If you believe your relationship is a scam, stop all contact immediately.
- Trust your instincts. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Original source can be found here.