Romance Scams

Romance Scam

In an age where online connections are part of our daily lives, it's crucial to stay vigilant against romance scams. These scams, often occurring on dating apps and social media, involve fraudsters who fabricate profiles to establish fake romantic relationships and eventually defraud their victims financially.
 

Recognize Romance Scams

Scammers' Strategies: Scammers create convincing profiles, claiming to be employed in jobs like military personnel or oil rig workers, which conveniently excuse them from meeting in person. Their tactics include shifting the conversation to private messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Google Chat or Telegram.

Financial Exploitation: Once emotionally involved, victims are manipulated into sending money for various fake emergencies or expenses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports staggering losses of $1.3 billion to romance scams in 2022, with a median loss of $4,400 per victim.

Sextortion: A growing concern is sextortion, where scammers threaten to release explicit photos. Reports of sextortion have increased significantly, particularly affecting the 18-29 age group.

Target Demographics: While anyone can be a target, older adults and individuals who have recently lost a spouse are particularly vulnerable. These scams are not only emotionally damaging but also financially crippling.

 

How to Stay Safe

  • Verify Profile Authenticity: Use reverse image searches to check if profile pictures are genuine.
  • Be Skeptical: Ask questions and be wary of inconsistent or strange answers.
  • Never Share Financial Details: Avoid sending money or sharing bank details, especially through cryptocurrencies, bank wires or gift cards.
  • Talk About New Relationships: Discuss new online relationships with trusted friends or family.
  • Privacy Matters: Be cautious about oversharing personal information and photos of yourself and your living environment. As a general practice, it is wise to be very careful about what identifiable information you are putting online, including social media.
  • Trust Your Instincts: If something feels too good to be true, it probably is. 
 

If You Suspect a Scam

  1. Stop communication with the scammer immediately.
  2. Talk to someone you trust about the situation.
  3. Report the incident to local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
 

 

Get Help

To request a service, visit the IT Help Desk and create a ServiceNow Ticket.

 

Get Help

To request a service, create a ServiceNow Ticket and assign the ticket to “IT-ITSO-Help Desk”.

IT Security Office
Administration Building
https://it.sdsu.edu/get-help

Report an Incident

Please contact the Information Security team immediately if you experience or are aware of any of the following: