Marin CyberSafe News: Beware of Romance Scams

In This Issue:

• • • What is a Romance Scam?

    • Red Flags

    • Ways to Protect Yourself

    • What To Do If You Are a Victim

       

From the desk of Jason Balderama, CISO, County of Marin

While Valentine's Day has come and gone, love is always in the air and online. According to a recent Pew survey, almost a third of Americans said they used an online dating service or app, and 10% of people in a relationship said that they met their partner online. Unfortunately, all this online romance creates opportunities for scammers.

Let's review the warning signs and ways to protect yourself from romance scams.

What Is a Romance Scam?

Romance scams are also called sweetheart scams, which refer to scams involving online dating. Essentially, a scammer creates a fake online profile, fires up the charm, and attempts to stir up romantic feelings in potential victims. After some not-so-innocent flirtation, the scammer eventually asks for money.

Red Flags

Romance scammers try to be as convincing as possible, which can now include using artificial intelligence-powered deep fake video or audio technology. Still, many cybercriminals follow a similar pattern.

Look out for these red flags when cybersurfing for love.

• The person requests money for urgent matters, such as medical expenses or a plane ticket to see you. Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.
• The person requests hard-to-track forms of payment, like pre-loaded gift cards.
• The person claims to live far away from you, often in a foreign country. They might also say they are in the military and serving overseas.
• The person breaks promises to see you in person.
• The person wants to push the conversation from the dating app to other messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram.
• The relationship feels like it is moving very fast.

Ways To Protect Yourself

By adopting a few simple habits, you can limit what scammers can learn about you.

• Share with care. Think before posting about yourself and others on social media or online dating services. Consider what a post reveals and who can see it.
• Check your settings. Consider setting your social media profiles to “private”. This makes it harder for scammers to target and communicate with you.
• Think before you click. Be wary of messages that push you for immediate action or ask for personal information. This is a red flag for phishing. Never share personal info via email or text if you do not know the sender.
• Use reverse image search. Do a reverse image search of the flirty account’s profile picture. You may see that image belongs to a completely different person, or has been affiliated with different online identities. If this is the case, there is a high chance the person behind the fake profile picture is trying to scam you.

What To Do If You Are a Victim

If you suspect you or a loved one are the victim of a romance scams, take action.

• Immediately stop communicating with the scammer.
• Note any identifiable information you may have on them, such as their email address or phone number. Take screenshots and write down any contact information.
• Contact your bank or credit card company if you’ve been scammed out of money.
• File a report with local law enforcement.
• Report the scam to the FTC and the FBI.
• Alert the website, platform, or app where you met the scammer. They might have more information on the scammer that can help investigators.

Disclaimer

The information provided in Marin CyberSafe News is intended to increase people’s awareness of cybersecurity and to help them behave in a more secure manner. Links in this newsletter are provided because they have information that may be useful. The County of Marin does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained in the links and neither endorses nor intends to promote the advertising of the resources listed herein. The opinions and statements contained in such resources are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of County of Marin.

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