Romance scams continue to be one of the industry leaders in fraud.  Romance scams are cyber-crimes committed on social networks.  Scammers create fake profiles to contact victims and gain their trust, then ultimately scam the unsuspecting victims for thousands.  Most victims of a romance scam are mostly looking for a companion or someone to talk too and share their personal lives with. 

Have you or someone close to you recently found love online?  Has there been a request to send money, even though you have never actually met?  Is there a quick escalation from just meeting to talking about marriage, and in some cases, even becoming engaged?  Have you met in person or does there seem to always be a reason for why they can’t meet?  If any of these apply to you, please talk with family or friends that you trust or with your banker and we would be happy to work through it with you.

Below is a great article from the Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Protection area published.  While this was originally published in February, we encourage you to take a minute to review as it holds a lot of good information about romance scams.   

Romance scammers’ favorite lies exposed | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)