The scammers manipulate innocent individuals by showing them love and affection. They try to win their trust in a short period and convince them to give money.
We all have witnessed the tremendous growth of the digital world over the years, people from around the world were able to connect with just a click, and from there, the journey started. Meeting new people and building relationships got easy with the help of social media platforms. The scammers saw a new opportunity to scam people and take their money.
According to the Federal Trade Commission(FTC), people have reported a loss of $1.3 billion to romance scams in the past five years, making it one of the most important frauds in the FTC fraud category. In 2021 the reports of losses hit the record when people reported a total loss of $547 million for the year.
Cyber-Forensics.Net, a bitcoin scam recovery services provider for online scams, says, "There are a lot of scams and scammers out there who can go through extreme ways to get a good amount from innocent investors. These scammers try to build a healthy relationship with the victim to win their trust and make them believe in every single word they say. An individual should never trust someone whom they met online."
What Is A Romance Scam?
A romance scam refers to a scam where a scammer creates a fake online identity to gain the trust and affection of a victim. They execute their second plan once these scammers start to get the victim's attention through social media platforms or dating apps. They pretend to share a romantic and close relationship by showering the victim with love, care, and affection to win their trust. And finally, they manipulate and steal from the victim.
A man downloaded a dating app in search of good companionship. After some time, he was matched with a woman from Malaysia. They started texting on the dating app and then took the conversation to a more personal platform. At first, the scammer kept a genuine profile; they both used to discuss their personal life and their dream to travel together. But after a month, the scammer turned the conversation to bitcoin, convincing the victim to invest in cryptocurrency. By the time he grew suspicious, he had already lost nearly $300,000.
If an individual meets someone online asking them for their bank account information, it is better not to trust them. No matter how genuine the reason may be, it will always count as a red flag if they are not willing to meet in person.
How To Recognize A Romance Scam?
Timothy Benson, a cryptocurrency recovery expert at Cyber-Forensics.Net, says, "These scammers who perform romance scams are experts at what they do. They will do their best to make an individual believe in them. They intend to establish a close relationship with the victim in a short period to win their trust. They will act to be extremely genuine and caring."
Here are some important points to spot a romance scam:
- They try their best to move their relationship fast.
- Their social media profile may contain fake photos, names, addresses, or looks too good to be true.
- They ask for money or bank information online.
- They want to talk on a more personal communication platform.
- They tend to work or study far from the victim's location.
- They make plans to meet, but they change the plan due to some emergency at the last moment. They will never meet in person.
How To Avoid A Romance Scam?
- Do not post personal information online: An individual should be careful about what they post on social media platforms. It will be easier for the scammer to gather details before targeting the victim.
- Ask questions: If an individual meets someone online who is in a rush to have a close relationship, take it slow and ask questions before jumping right into it and trusting them without a clue.
- Do not send money or make payments: These scammers will ask for money or request the victim to make payments for them. Never believe in someone who is unwilling to meet in person and is asking for money.
- Research their profile: Such scammers never use their real photo, name, or personal information, so the profile they have created to connect with the victim can be fake. One should always do personal research before falling for them.
How To Report A Romance Scam?
If an individual becomes the victim of a romance scam and loses their money to a fraudster, they can report the fraud to:
- The Federal Trade Commission(FTC).
Or, they can even hire a genuine fund recovery company like Cyber-Forensics.Net that provides services to recover an individual's lost fund from the fraudster. They have a team of professionals, and their goal is to recover the victim’s money that has been lost due to fraud with the help of the latest technology and AI algorithms to provide the most up-to-date and effective fraud detection and prevention.
Even fund recovery fraud companies claim to recover the lost funds and ask the victim to pay an upfront fee for the recovery service. But once the victim transfers the money, they disappear, scamming the victim twice. An individual should always look for a genuine fund recovery service provider.
About Cyber-Forensics.Net:
Cyber-Forensics.Net is committed to providing the most accurate tracing service for victims of online scams. Cyber-Forensics.Net empowers and simplifies the process of tracking down the cyber-criminals and assists in recovering the funds and creating an atmosphere for a negotiated settlement. For more information, please visit http://cyber-forensics.net/.