Swiping Left on Romance Scams

As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and World Romance Scam Prevention Day, we want to draw attention to one of the most prolific, fastest growing and costly types of online scams that are targeting victims today - pig butchering and romance investment scams.

In the world of online dating and social media, romance scams have become alarmingly common. The most recent annual report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) details that in 2023 alone victims lost $5 billion to investment and romance scams. Here at 221B Partners, we have worked with victims who have fallen prey to sophisticated fraudsters. 

These skilled scammers are professionals at emotional exploitation. They manipulate their victims into sharing personal information, sending money or even committing crimes. They often use dating apps or social media platforms to identify victims and build trust over time before striking, and the financial and emotional damage they cause can be devastating. Knowing how to recognize their overtures is key to avoiding them.

Red Flags

One of the most common red flags in romance scams is a partner who quickly professes love or deep emotional attachment without meeting in person. Scammers often make grand declarations of affection despite the relationship being purely online and usually text-based with deceptive photos exchanged that do not match the scammers themselves. Attempts from the victim to video chat or meet in person are deflected or delayed indefinitely. They may claim to be overseas for work, often in the military or in a lucrative profession such as a doctor, on a business trip, or stationed in a remote location. Once trust is established, they typically present one of the following two scenarios. 

They often create a crisis — an emergency that requires immediate financial assistance. It could be a medical emergency, a business deal gone wrong, or a travel-related issue, critical infrastructure supplies necessary to their organization, a rescue operation to extract them or a family member from a hostile or other dangerous environment or situation. 

They can also employ get-rich quick schemes over emergencies frequently purporting to have inside information on a sure bet on cryptocurrency, an up-and-coming business that needs an investment with a promise of outlandish returns or many other “too good to be true” opportunities, including new job opportunities. The ask for money is always framed as urgent and essential, and the amounts tend to increase over time.

Running Down Leads

From an investigative standpoint, identifying the perpetrators and actors behind scams requires some creativity, knowledge of popular communication (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.), money-transfer (Cash App, Venmo, etc.) and other mobile applications that can be used to locate and track scammers across the internet. Scammers usually create fake profiles, often using stolen or AI-generated photos and fictitious names to back up their synthetic identities or impersonation of real people, though sometimes a common profile photo, email address, IP address or other information can be linked between disparate accounts to correlate accounts used by the same scammer or group of scammers. 

Get Help

If you believe you’ve been a victim of a romance or investment scam, it’s important to act quickly. Immediately cease all communication with the individual and do not send any more money. Gather all the evidence you can — screenshots of conversations, email exchanges (keep the emails in your inbox so that investigators can retrieve the original messages with headers intact), and financial transaction records. Report the scam to the platform where you met the person, as well as to the authorities, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). 

Unfortunately, many local law enforcement agencies do not have the resources to investigate these types of crimes or even sometimes have the training to be able to direct a victim as to the appropriate actions described above. At 221B, we have experience assisting victims and investigating these scams and also work with several partners that provide expertise in identity theft, information and cyber security and other areas that can help victims navigate investigating and reporting the scam as well as safeguarding against future scammers.

While romance and investment scams are pervasive and emotionally taxing, being vigilant can protect you from becoming a victim. If something feels off — if the person is overly secretive, never meets in person, or asks for money — trust your instincts. The rise in online scams has also led to an increase in awareness and investigative strategies, so there is hope for both prevention and justice. The key is to recognize the warning signs early and take swift action before the situation spirals out of control.