Local law enforcement warns of ‘Romance Scams’ ahead of Valentine’s Day
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love and connection, but for scammers, it’s an opportunity to exploit people’s emotions.
A romance scam occurs when a criminal uses a fake identity online to gain a victim’s trust and affection, ultimately stealing their money or personal information.
This scam typically occurs on dating apps or social media platforms.
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Better Business Bureau, the prevalence of online scams – and the number of people falling for them – has dramatically increased since the onset of the pandemic.
This increase in scams has been seen everywhere, from online shopping scams to work-from-home scams and even romance scams.
Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said scammers find scamming online easier.
"It’s global now; they scam you from anywhere in the world. This is nothing that you have to show up and provide an envelope full of cash or anything else. It is truly global, and it can all be done electronically," he said. "As soon as you provide your information, your account information and your personal information to access those accounts, they can be drained from anywhere in the world."
Puett said scammers typically spend weeks to months to build trust with their victims.
"It varies; it depends on how susceptible the other victim is to what the scammer is doing. Finally, to act like they have a significant problem. That requires money or finances. It could be that they were trying to build a relationship with them," he said. "They can give them access to accounts to help care for the victim, or some other avenue that they're trying to do that gives larger access to the victim's financial resources."
According to Credit Abuse Resistance Education, common signs of a romance scammer include professing love very quickly, having a profile with vague or few images across platforms, requesting money, pushing to move the conversation to a more personal communication platform and making plans to meet in person only to cancel due to a sudden “emergency.”
Puett said if someone suspects they have been scammed, they should get a hold of local law enforcement.
"Change your password, change your accounts and all of that to avoid getting any more access than they do," Puett said. "The biggest thing is prevention because once they have access to those accounts, they drain those accounts in a matter of minutes. If they're in another country, there's usually no way to get your money back."
Puett said to be vigilant when it comes to scams online. This includes not providing personal information, such as account information, date of birth, social security number, etc.
Additionally, if someone has been scammed, Puett said the first step is to contact local law enforcement and any financial institutions involved in the situation.
