In the aftermath of lockdown, the realm of romance turned into fertile ground for scammers, leaving the hearts of the lonely even more desolate. Data unveiled by Lloyd’s and TSB paints a grim picture, indicating a staggering 91% surge in romance scams post-pandemic. While individuals aged 45 and above seemed most susceptible to these schemes, those between 18 and 24, and even the 25 to 34 age bracket, faced significant losses as well.
Metro Bank raises the red flag on Valentine’s Day scammers, sounding an alarm about a 43% escalation in romance scams between 2021 and 2022. Their study unearthed the shocking truth that perpetrators pocketed a whopping £16 million through romantic cons in the first half of 2022, foreshadowing an equally active year for swindlers.
Across the pond, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre divulged that in 2021, a staggering 24,000 Americans fell prey to romance scams, collectively losing around $1 billion. In the same year, a cryptocurrency scam trend swept through the domain of fraudsters. These malevolent actors infiltrated victims’ lives through dating apps and social media, skillfully leading them into bogus cryptocurrency investments.
A report by UK Finance casts light on a cunning strategy employed by scammers, where they seize control of over eight payments in each case. Victims are persuaded to transfer modest sums of money over extended periods. TSB’s insight adds another layer to the grim reality, revealing that the average fraudulent relationship spans 62 days, with more than a third of these ill-fated connections initiating on Facebook.
Baz Thompson, the Head of Fraud and Investigations at Metro Bank, cautions online daters with sobering words: “You cannot underestimate how callous and unfeeling these types of scammers are – no matter how charming they initially appear. Just like a real relationship, they are prepared to invest time and patience in getting to know you to make you feel that you are in a real relationship, but it is always with a payday in their sights.
“Victims will be asked to pay for a laundry list of items including emergency travel costs or for tickets to fly to see the victim, medical bills, temporary loans until ‘inheritance’ comes through, bills/living costs. These will not necessarily be for large amounts, but regular and persistent requests for support.”
In the backdrop of Valentine’s Day 2022, the scamming landscape unveiled three most common tactics: catfishing on dating apps, phishing fraud, and social media shopping cons. On dating apps such as Hinge, Bumble, Tinder, and Grindr, malefactors played their cards by soliciting funds from unsuspecting matches. The year-round plague of phishing scams took a Valentine’s Day twist as victims received alluring email advertisements for holiday getaways, romantic gifts, and other online shopping offers, luring them into clicking malicious links that resulted in data theft. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram also served as treacherous terrain, as many found themselves duped by sham online retailers.
