The threat of romance scams looms large
1 month ago

The threat of romance scams looms large

Deccan Chronicle  

Hyderabad:As Valentine’s Day approaches, so does the risk of heartbreak — not the lovelorn but from deception. “AI helps them create highly convincing messages that manipulate emotions and make scams harder to spot,” said Satnam Narang, a senior research engineer at Tenable. Fraudsters frequently impersonate service members, pretending to be stationed abroad, while others orchestrate ‘sugar mummy and daddy’ scams to lure victims into fraudulent financial transactions. Victims are often blamed for being gullible, but these scams are highly manipulative and exploit vulnerabilities that anyone could have, Narang said.” Recovering lost money is extremely difficult, especially when cryptocurrency is involved. To make matters worse, scammers frequently target their victims again, posing as ‘recovery agents’ who claim they can retrieve the stolen funds — for an additional fee.

Romance Scams Victims Romance Scams  scammers  money  financial  cent  romance  worse  scams  threat  victims  looms  lost  large  deception

History of this topic

Scammers exploit heightened emotions around Valentine's Day. Here are the red flags to look out for
Trending News
1 month ago

Scammers exploit heightened emotions around Valentine's Day. Here are the red flags to look out for

ABC  

Dating apps are now the reality of modern romance, with many people finding their life partners online. Scammers tend to contact targets via: Text or email Dating apps Social media posts Discussion forums Cybertrace CEO Dan Halpin says scammers exploit heightened emotions around Valentine's Day knowing people are more open to romance. Cybertrace CEO Dan Halpin says scammers use 'love' …

The Loneliness Epidemic Is a Security Crisis
Trending News
1 month ago

The Loneliness Epidemic Is a Security Crisis

Wired  

Loneliness has never been more urgent. Foremost among these is one of today’s most pernicious digital frauds: romance scams, which exploit targets’ feelings of isolation and net fraudsters hundreds of millions of dollars per year. So while generative AI chatbots are already being used to write scripts and converse in multiple languages for other types of fraud, they can’t quite …

What is ‘pig butchering’ cyber scam flagged by MHA? All you need to know
2 months, 2 weeks ago

What is ‘pig butchering’ cyber scam flagged by MHA? All you need to know

Hindustan Times  

The Ministry of Home Affairs has identified a new form of cyber fraud known as the “pig butchering scam”, involving large scale money laundering. Representational image) The new cyber fraud scam makes people lose money almost daily due to bad investments In its latest annual report, the MHA stated that the new investment scam started in China in 2016, targeting …

Meta cracks down on ‘pig butchering’ scams, claims to have removed over 2 million accounts
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Meta cracks down on ‘pig butchering’ scams, claims to have removed over 2 million accounts

Firstpost  

Pg butchering scams involves fraudsters tricking victims — often found on social media or dating platforms — into fake cryptocurrency investments or financial schemes. Such scams have siphoned off more than $75 billion globally since 2020 Meta has been actively tracking the criminal networks behind pig butchering scams for the past two years, noting their increasing global spread. Described as …

Meta removed 2 million accounts linked to pig butchering scams: Know what it is and how it works
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Meta removed 2 million accounts linked to pig butchering scams: Know what it is and how it works

India Today  

Meta has taken a major step against online scams by removing over two million accounts involved in something called "pig butchering" scams. These scams are elaborate fraud schemes where criminals build fake relationships online to trick people into investing money in bogus plans, often involving cryptocurrency. How the scam works –Scammers send a friendly message or create fake profiles on …

Romance scams have surged – here are the warning signs to look out for
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Romance scams have surged – here are the warning signs to look out for

The Independent  

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about …

Romance scams surge despite 65% thinking they would never fall victim, says bank
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Romance scams surge despite 65% thinking they would never fall victim, says bank

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy More than £3.8 million was …

How to keep yourself safe from romance scams this Valentine’s Day
1 year, 1 month ago

How to keep yourself safe from romance scams this Valentine’s Day

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — When Kate Kleinart fell victim of a romance scam, what hurt the most wasn’t the thousands of dollars that she lost, but the love that she thought existed between her and the person who scammed her. “Losing the love was worse than losing the money,” said Kleinart, 70, who lost tens of thousands to a romance scam …

Warning after huge rise in number of men being romance scammed
1 year, 1 month ago

Warning after huge rise in number of men being romance scammed

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. One in five romance fraud cases reported to Nationwide Building …

Pig Butchering Scams: What it means and how you can safeguard yourself? EXPLAINED
1 year, 4 months ago

Pig Butchering Scams: What it means and how you can safeguard yourself? EXPLAINED

India TV News  

Pig butchering scams: Every day we hear about new cases of online scams. Now, Nikhil Kamath, the CEO of Zerodha and the host of the popular podcast ‘WTF,’ has cautioned people about a unique scam called 'Pig Butchering Scams'. Elaborating on the strange analogy, Kamath said that the pig butchering scams involve fattening the victim before butchering. Pig butchering scams …

’Pig butchering’ scams: Nithin Kamath explains how they work, protection from it
1 year, 4 months ago

’Pig butchering’ scams: Nithin Kamath explains how they work, protection from it

Live Mint  

Amid the cases of financial scams on the rise, founder, and CEO of online brokerage firm Zerodha, Nithin Kamath, on 13 November said it is scary how many people fall for various financial scams. He even suggested methods to protect themselves from such scams, where people fall for fake job offer scams, scammy high-return investment schemes crypto investments, etc. It …

Pig Butchering Scams Are Evolving Fast
2 years, 1 month ago

Pig Butchering Scams Are Evolving Fast

Wired  

Pig butchering scams have already stolen hundreds of millions of dollars. Researchers found that to stay relevant and deceive more victims in recent months, so-called pig butchering attacks are developing both more compelling narratives to draw targets in and more sophisticated tech to convince victims that there’s big money to be made. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more …

Surge in romance fraud sees £316 million taken from victims
2 years, 1 month ago

Surge in romance fraud sees £316 million taken from victims

The Telegraph  

Fraudsters who prey on people’s desire for romance have conned their victims out of £317 million over the past four years, new figures have revealed. Five police forces saw over £10 million lost to romance fraud between 2019 and 2022 – Avon & Somerset, Kent, London Metropolitan, Sussex and Thames Valley. The figures were revealed by the Liberal Democrats ahead …

Romance fraud: Looking for love in wrong place proves costly
3 years, 1 month ago

Romance fraud: Looking for love in wrong place proves costly

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ghanian nationals Linda Mbimadong and Richard Broni played relatively …

Thousands stolen from romance scam victims as cases double
3 years, 1 month ago

Thousands stolen from romance scam victims as cases double

The Independent  

Romance fraud cases almost doubled during the pandemic with “relationships” prompting victims to make payments worth more than £6,000 for months on end, as psychologists warn of “hero in need of help” stories to part both men and women from their cash. “Therefore, the victims of such fraud are often compassionate and altruistic people – likely to give to charity …

I lost all my money in a Bitcoin ‘romance scam’ during the pandemic – the health crisis is a hunting ground for cybercriminals
4 years, 1 month ago

I lost all my money in a Bitcoin ‘romance scam’ during the pandemic – the health crisis is a hunting ground for cybercriminals

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But the real trauma came days, …

Falling in love with a scammer: the dark side of dating apps
4 years, 11 months ago

Falling in love with a scammer: the dark side of dating apps

The Independent  

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about …

Is it love? Maybe not, as romance scams proliferate
6 years, 1 month ago

Is it love? Maybe not, as romance scams proliferate

Associated Press  

The FTC announced this week that romance-related scams have surged recently and generated more losses than any other consumer fraud reported to the agency last year. Romance scams vary but criminals typically find their victims online, though a dating site or social media. But FTC data found reported romance scams happened most often to those in the 40 to 69 …

11 Tips To Protect Yourself Against Online Romance Scams
7 years, 7 months ago

11 Tips To Protect Yourself Against Online Romance Scams

Huff Post  

scyther5 via Getty Images Hundreds of thousands of women and men worldwide fall victim to online romance scams every year. Take it as a red flag when someone you’ve recently met on a dating site wants to leave the site’s chat feature in favor of another messaging platform. If you’re worried you’re being scammed, try copying a message from your …

How A Billion-Dollar Internet Scam Is Breaking Hearts And Bank Accounts
7 years, 7 months ago

How A Billion-Dollar Internet Scam Is Breaking Hearts And Bank Accounts

Huff Post  

Ji Sub Jeong / HuffPost Modern online romance scams are premeditated, organized crimes that steal millions ― potentially billions ― of dollars from vulnerable, lonely people over the internet. Doug Shadel, head of AARP’s fraud watch team and state director of AARP Washington, said the scammers seek to get the victim “under the ether,” so that “the thinking part of …

Psychology of scams: The emotional traps to watch out for
8 years ago

Psychology of scams: The emotional traps to watch out for

ABC  

Criminals are using age-old techniques to manipulate the way we think and act, leaving us vulnerable to scams. The romance scam During the grooming stage, the criminal works on eliciting a high level of trust to manipulate the victim into what the criminal terms the 'ether state'. This state is characterised by high oxytocin levels which are increased through 'love …

Online dating scammers want money, not love
11 years, 6 months ago

Online dating scammers want money, not love

India TV News  

The incidence of online romance scams is increasing by the day and has already victimized an estimated 230,000 people in Britain alone, costing them nearly $60 billion a year, a study reveals. Online dating scammers pretend to initiate a romantic relationship through online dating services and then defraud their victims of large sums of money over a period of months …

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