{"id":15219,"date":"2022-01-18T13:12:32","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T21:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/blog\/?p=15219"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T23:34:29","slug":"valentines-day-scams-to-watch-out-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.socialcatfish.cloud\/scamfish\/valentines-day-scams-to-watch-out-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentines Day Scams To Watch Out For"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valentine’s day is about showing your love for that special someone in your life. On Valentine’s day<\/a>, people show their love through gift-giving. In fact, Americans spent $21.9 billion on valentines day activities in 2021 alone. unfortunately, Romance scammers use this holiday to capitalize on people’s loneliness. They do this in elaborate romance scams<\/a> that can cost victims thousands of dollars and an immeasurable amount of heartache. In this article, we’ll discuss how to spot and avoid valentines day scams online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Romance Scams Reaching Epidemic Proportions<\/h2>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-rfstudio-3621208.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

It’s a common misconception that romance scams<\/a> are an issue that mainly affects the elderly. Although they are a group that seems to be particularly susceptible to falling prey to these scams, a growing number of young adults are falling victim to romance<\/a> fraud as well. Young adults have been the fastest-growing group of victims to call prey to romance scams<\/a>. Between the years 2017 and 2020, romance scams among young adults surged by 156%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Romance scams are responsible for people losing hundreds of millions of dollars<\/a> every year, and the problem is growing. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Romance scams take more money from the average victim<\/a> than any other scam. The median amount lost in romance scams<\/a> is $2,500. That is 10 times higher than the average amount lost for any other scam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While many older victims of romance scams meet their scammer on platforms like Facebook<\/a>, Plenty of Fish<\/a>, and even online games like Words With Friends,<\/a> many young adults meet their scammers on swipe-based dating apps like Tinder<\/a> or Bumble<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

What is a Romance Scam<\/h2>\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-rfstudio-3621485.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

A romance scam is when someone steals someone else’s images online<\/a> and uses them to initiate a conversation on social media. The scammers<\/a> then create a relationship with their victims by following a specific format that scammers have developed over the years.<\/p>\n

The scammer tactics<\/a> start with love bombing. Love bombing<\/a> is a manipulation tactic that starts with the manipulator confessing their love for their victims after only talking to you for a very short time. They then shower them with affection and affirmations of love on a daily basis. This is the first step in these scams<\/a> because for many people, having an attractive person confess their love for them is extremely flattering, and it leaves them susceptible to the next part of the scam.<\/p>\n\n

The Story Phase<\/h2>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pexels-gustavo-fring-6699441.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

In the next stage of the scam<\/a>. scammers come up with elaborate and exciting stories<\/a> to go along with the pictures they’ve stolen. These stories are usually centered around their professions. Romance scammers<\/a> will usually claim to be a few things. A soldier in the military, an oil rig worker, a peace corps doctor, or an engineer working abroad.<\/p>\n

Scammers choose these identities because they provide excuses for why they can’t meet up with their victims or get on a video call<\/a> with them. Their whole goal is to hide behind the images they’ve stolen and the identity they’ve created so their victims can never find out the truth<\/a>. That the person they’ve fallen in love with impersonating someone using their images.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is talking to someone who seems to be following this pattern, run a reverse image search<\/a> on their images to find out if the person is real.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n <\/i> Name<\/span><\/a>\n <\/i> Email<\/span><\/a>\n <\/i> Phone<\/span><\/a>\n <\/i> Username<\/span><\/a>\n <\/i> Address<\/span><\/a>\n <\/i> Image<\/span><\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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