There are dangers that lurk online, when it comes to love.
Southern Albertans across the province continue to get scammed by criminals posing as would-be-Romeos.
“Just a day before Valentine’s Day we want as many people as possible to be aware,” says Mary O’Sullivan-Andersen, president and CEO of The Better Business Bureau Serving Alberta and East Kootenay.
“Those who seek a relationship through online dating sites must be aware there is organized crime operating in the space trying to establish relationships before making a move to scam people out of their hard-earned cash.”
The criminals behind these scams create fake profiles (known as catfishing) and attempt to enter into a romantic relationship gaining the trust of the intended victim.
Once trust has been established, the scammer will ask the victim to consider making a “can’t miss investment opportunity” such as cryptocurrency or simply ask for money for some other reason. This is a scam – disengage immediately.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported in 2023, 60 per cent of the $300 million in investment fraud in Canada was related to cryptocurrency. This is likely much higher, as BBB research indicates approximately only five per cent of scams get reported.
“It should be safe on Valentine’s Day and every day, to go online. Unfortunately, fraudsters are also there so you must know how to protect yourself, so you don’t become yet another victim of fraud in addition to suffering from a broken heart,” says O’Sullivan-Andersen.
Tips to spot this scam:
Too hot to be true. Scammers offer up good-looking photos and tales of financial success. Be honest with yourself about who would be genuinely interested. If they seem “too perfect,” your alarm bells should ring.
In a hurry to get off the site. Scammers will try very quickly to get you to move to communicate through email, messenger or phone.
Moving fast. A “catfisher” will begin speaking of a future together and tell you they love you quickly. They often say they’ve never felt this way before.
Talk about trust. Catfishers will start manipulating you with talk about trust and its importance. This will often be the first step to asking you for money.
Don’t want to meet. Be wary of someone who always has an excuse to postpone a meeting, because they say they’re travelling or live overseas or are in the military.
Suspect language. If the person you are communicating with claims to be from your hometown but has poor spelling or grammar, uses overly flowery language or uses phrases that don’t make sense, that’s a red flag.
Hard luck stories. Before asking you for money, the scammer may hint at financial troubles like heat being cut off or a stolen car or a sick relative or they may share a sad story from their past (death of parents or spouse, etc.).
Protect yourself from this scam:
- Never send money or personal information that can be used for identity theft to someone you’ve never met in person. Never give someone your credit card information to book a ticket to visit you. Cut off contact if someone starts asking you for information like credit card, bank or government I.D. numbers.
- Ask specific questions about details given in a profile. A scammer may stumble over remembering details or making a story fit.
- Do your research. Many scammers steal photos from the web to use in their profiles. You can do a reverse image lookup using a website like tineye.com or images.google.com to see if the photos on a profile are stolen from somewhere else. You can also search online for a profile name, email or phone number to see what adds up and what doesn’t.
If you have been a victim of a scam:
Report to local police using the non-emergency line.
