Prevalence And Sophistication Of Online Romance Scams Increasing
(New York, NY) -- Consumers lost over a billion dollars to romance scams in 2023. That's according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC found that about 40-percent of people who said they lost money to a romance scam in 2022 said the contact started on social media. Median losses per person amounted to two-thousand dollars, and almost three-quarters of those who had scammed were men. 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. If you suspect a romance scam you can report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, or by contacting the F.B.I.