LIHUE — A study released by the Better Business Bureau reveals an estimated one million Americans have been victimized in romance fraud scams with losses nearing $1 billion over the last three years. BBB warns those who use dating websites to be wary of scammers who prey on unsuspecting victims.
The study — “Online Romance Scams: A Better Business Bureau Study on How Scammers Use Impersonation, Blackmail and Trickery to Steal from Unsuspecting Daters” — says the scheme can take a number of months to play out as the scammer gains the victim’s trust.
The scammer eventually will ask for small amounts of money to feel out the victim. Victims often turn into unknowing accomplices of money laundering.
The study recommends that law enforcement agencies share more information about successful romance fraud prosecutions, do more training and prosecute more cases. BBB recommends online dating sites and social media do more to screen, identify and remove profiles used for scams.
There also needs to be more support services offered for romance fraud victims.
According to BBB Scam Tracker, an Alaska woman reported losing $5,000 to a romance scam in November. She reported she started a long-distance relationship with a man she found on a dating site.
He told her he lived in Malaysia and often asked her for money for rent, hospital bills and business endeavors.
The man claimed he would come live with her when he received his visa. When she tried to talk to him about it, he stopped communicating with her. After three years of a long-distance relationship, she gave him a total of $5,000.
Among the report’s key findings:
w There is no “typical” victim of romance fraud. They can be male or female, young or old, straight or gay. The common denominator is that they are seeking a loving relationship, and they believe they have found it.
w Scammers often portray themselves as U.S. military members. Military officials say they receive thousands of complaints yearly from scam victims around the world. Officials note military members will never need money for leave or health care.
w The majority of romance fraud has its home in West Africa, particularly Nigeria. There also are groups that operate in Russia and the Ukraine that employ online dating sites to defraud victims.
At any one time, there may be 25,000 scammers online working with victims. A company that screens profiles for dating companies told BBB that 500,000 of the 3.5 million profiles it scans monthly are fake.
The report was prepared by C. Steven Baker, BBB International Investigations Specialist. Baker is the retired director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Midwest Region.
