February can be considered as the month of love. With Valentine’s Day falling in this month, some singles may be narrowing their search for someone to spend the holiday of love with. Online dating and social media have made it easier than ever to meet new people and find dates. Unfortunately, it has made scammers’ work simpler too. Con artists create compelling backstories, and full-fledged identities, then trick you into falling for someone who doesn’t even exist. This form of deception is known as “catfishing.”
BBB offers these telltale signs of romance scams:
- Too hot to be true. Scammers offer up good-looking photos and tales of financial success. Be honest with yourself about who would be genuinely interested. If they seem “too perfect,” your alarm bells should ring.
- In a hurry to get off the site. Catfishers will try very quickly to get you to move to communicating through email, messenger, or phone.
- Moving fast. A catfisher will begin speaking of a future together and tell you they love you quickly. They often say they’ve never felt this way before.
- Talk about trust. Catfishers will start manipulating you with talk about trust and how important it is. This will often be a first step to asking you for money.
- Don’t want to meet. Be wary of someone who always has an excuse to postpone meeting because they say they are travelling or live overseas or are in the military.
- Hard luck stories. Before moving on to asking you for money, the scammer may hint at financial troubles like heat being cut off or a stolen car or a sick relative, or they may share a sad story from their past (death of parents or spouse, etc.).
Protect Yourself From this Scam:
- Never send money or personal information that can be used for identity theft to someone you’ve never met in person. Cut off contact if someone starts asking you for information like credit card, bank, or government ID numbers.
- Ask specific questions about details given in a profile. A scammer may stumble over remembering details or making a story fit.
To report a scam, go to BBB Scam Tracker and visit bbb.org for more information and other consumer tips.
