Beware! Romance scammers love cryptocurrency; Here is how stop them on WhatsApp, Tinder
Love makes the world go round! Yes, but there are times when it can become a losing experience, and we are not talking about relationships here, we are referring to money loss. It can be a double whammy- first it hits you in the heart and then the wallet! A lethal combo indeed. Because that is what online romance scammers do, they hit you with these one-two sucker punches. Valentine's Day has just passed and now we can talk a bit about what some unscrupulous people have been doing in the name of love.
An online romance scam refers to a fraudster who tries to manipulate money from a victim in the name of love. It sounds like a tough task, but it seems the strategy is quite successful, considering the amount that romance scammers have been able to steal from gullible, love-lorn, people. A report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reveals that there is nearly an 80 percent rise in romance scams in 2021 as compared to 2020. And shockingly, romance scammers got away with a total of $139 million and that to in, of all things, cryptocurrency. This is five times more than the amount taken in 2020. The crypto payment angle in romance scams makes for a huge chunk in the whole amount, which is $547 million, that Americans lost in 2020 while finding love.
Many people use online dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, or messaging apps like WhatsApp, to find new love and online scammers know very well how to make money out of this situation. These scammers generally create a fake profile with a randomly picked profile picture (usually photos of good-looking men and women) from the internet and then go fishing for new friends. When someone responds to them positively, they build up trust and once they succeed in moving the
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