Here’s how to avoid romance scams, which cost consumers $1.14 billion last

Cyber criminals are targeting wealth accounts by tapping into a victim’s emotions.

So-called romance scams involve building a relationship and trust with the victim, so that the target willingly provides access to their accounts or transfers money to the criminal, explained Tracy Kitten, the director of fraud and security at Javelin Strategy & Research, a financial research services firm.

Consumers lost $1.14 billion to romance scams in 2023, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Median losses per person amounted to $2,000, the highest reported losses for any form of imposter scam, the FTC found.

“Romance scams tend to be some of the more insidious because they prey on emotions,” Kitten said. “These things happen in real life, these aren’t just shows that we see on Netflix.” 

More from Personal Finance:
What Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour says about ‘passion tourism’
FAFSA issues force tough choices for would-be college students
‘NEETS’ and ‘new unemployables’: Why fewer young adults are working

“What people need to realize is that people behind these types of scams could teach a master class in human behavior,” said Theresa Payton, a former White House chief information officer who is now the CEO of cybersecurity firm Fortalice Solutions.

“They know the different emotional trigger points that we all have, and that’s when they strike,” Payton added.

Romance scammers trick their victims into thinking they’re someone they’re not. Over time, the criminal will develop a relationship with the victim, Kitten explained.

Once trust is established, the victim may be more easily convinced to send money, provide access to their bank accounts and in some cases, even launder funds for them, she said.

About 22% of surveyed financial advisors with clients affected by fraud have had clients who fell victim to a romance scam, according to Javelin. The survey fielded 1,500 financial advisors in July 2023.

Oftentimes, cyber criminals are reaching out and developing relationships over social media platforms, Kitten said.

It’s a really easy way for them to fool their victims because there’s no face-to-face contact,” she said.

About 40% of people who said they lost money to a romance scam in 2022 said the contact started on social media, the FTC found.

Almost three-quarters (73%) of consumers who had been victimized by a romance scam were men, according to Javelin data. For that report, Javelin polled 5,000 U.S. households in November 2022.

“At this point, we’re all exposed,” Fortalice Solutions’ Payton said. “Even if you don’t have a big social media footprint, your data points are out there.”  

There are ways to detect if a romance scammer has targeted you. “The biggest red flag,” said Payton, is requests for money. 

Here are five more warning signs:

1. Unsolicited text messages: Scammers can use bots that can reach out to hundreds of people at a time…