Houston: With Valentine’s Day round the corner, there can be no better time to be aware of ‘romance scams’.
The modus operandi of scamsters is to adopt a fake online identity and gain a victim’s affection and trust. Then they use the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim, according to the FBI.
Cases of romance scams have been on the rise in the United States, with 24,000 victims falling prey and losing approximately $1 billion (Rs 7,500 crore). The FBI feels many more losses went unreported.
India is seeing a huge rise in cyber crime, and it may not be long before romance scams become common in the country of 1.35 billion as well. After all, the approach is same as that of cyber frauds – to convince the victim and con him/her.
In case of romance scams, criminals look to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself to the victim and gain trust. They may propose marriage or try to set up a meeting in person, but that won’t happen as they will eventually ask for money.
Just as police in India keep alerting the people not to fall for cyber fraudsters, the FBI advises citizens not to share bank account information with anyone they meet online.
People are also urged to be careful about what they post and share online, because scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to understand and target the person.
FBI also urges people to never send money, cryptocurrency, or gift cards to anyone they have only communicated with online or by phone, even if romantic feelings have developed.
