Don’t trust your super hot military boyfriend you’ve never met, he doesn’t exist.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, if her offshore oil rig worker “boyfriend” who looks just like Bradley Cooper in his photos online and has been hinting at proposing for months but has never seen in real life, he suddenly needs money for “hospital”. invoices”… Fair. Not to do. He.
Romance scams cost victims at least $1.3 billion in 2022, according to the latest figures from the US Federal Trade Commission. Nearly 70,000 people reported these crimes last year, and the reported median loss was $4,400.
The most common lie scammers tell their victims is that they, or someone close to them, is sick, injured, or in jail according to more than 8,000 romance scams reported to the FTC that cost consumers money. This line accounted for nearly a quarter (24 percent) of all thefts.
Meanwhile, “I can teach you how to invest” and “I’m in the army away” along with “I need help with a major delivery” all tied for second place, at 18 percent.
These types of investment scams have prompted warnings from US and European government agencies as law enforcement cracks down on so-called “pig slaughter” schemes.
Number One Payment Method in Romance Scams: Cryptocurrency
Pig slaughter is a new twist on romance scams, in which scammers build a relationship with their victims and then trick them into transferring money to accounts controlled by criminals. In these cases, however, the scammers convince their brands to “invest” in cryptocurrency using fake websites. Once a victim transfers money to the thieves, the thieves flee and disappear. The money is never seen again.
Last month, European police arrested 15 suspected scammers and shut down a multinational network of call centers selling fake cryptocurrencies that law enforcement says stole hundreds of millions of euros from victims.
And in November, the US government seized seven domain names used in pig-slaughtering scams that netted criminals more than $10 million.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the largest reported total dollar losses due to romance scams last year were related to cryptocurrencies, according to the FTC.
Some of the other excuses offered by romance scammers as to why they couldn’t meet face-to-face and/or needed their true love to transfer a large amount of money immediately, ranked in order of prevalence of consumer-reported scams, were :
- “We don’t know each other but let’s talk about marriage” (12 percent);
- “I have come up with some money or gold” (7 percent);
- “I’m on an oil rig or on a ship” (6 percent);
- “You can trust me with your private photos” (3 percent).
One more reason not to send that NSFW photo
The last point above highlights the growing trend of sextortion scams, according to the FTC. Once you’ve shared NSFW photos, the scammer threatens to send them to all your social media contacts unless you pay.
FTC data shows these scams have increased eightfold since 2019, with people ages 18 to 29 more than six times more likely to report sextortion than people ages 30 and older.
Additionally, more than half (58 percent) of the 2022 sextortion reports identified social media as the method of contact. Instagram and Snapchat topped the list, we’re told.
While romance scammers frequently use dating apps to target victims, criminals prefer private messaging on social media platforms to initiate a love match. According to the FTC, 40% of victims who lost money in 2022 said the scam started on social media, compared with 19% who cited a dating website or app.
Social networks are especially effective because they provide romance scammers with “a gold mine of open source intelligence,” according to Mika Aalto, chief executive of Finnish security software provider Hoxhunt.
“After a little acknowledgment by the attacker, it’s common for victims to get hooked on a site like Facebook or Instagram with a flirty message,” Aalto told investigators. “The image of a con artist posing as an attractive person can create a strong emotional connection that bypasses the typical skepticism of a person. From there, the relationship can seem incredibly real.”
In case there was any doubt, the co-founder of the security firm points to NFL star Manti Te’o, whose fake girlfriend and catphishing scam is now the subject of a Netflix documentary.
“Unfortunately, recovering funds stolen from a romance scam or catphishing attack is highly unlikely,” Aalto added. But it’s not just money that people lose on these; the emotional damage can be hard to quantify, let alone overcome, after trusting someone enough to take advantage of you.”
Fuente: https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/10/romance_scammers_cost_victims_13b/
Cyber security enthusiast. Information security specialist, currently working as a risk infrastructure specialist and researcher.
Experience in risk and control processes, security audit support, COB (business continuity) design and support, work group management and information security standards.
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