The last thing everyone wants is to have their heart broken and lose money on Valentine’s Day.
In 2022, romance scams resulted in the second-highest amount of losses in incidents reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), ranking just after investment scams.
This is not the first time romance scams have ranked high for the amount of money lost, according to a recent study by Social Catfish, a company that verifies online identities with reverse image searches.
The study, which analyzed data from the CAFC between 2017 and 2021, shows people in Canada lost more than $134 million to romance scams during the period, putting romance scam second on the list for the amount of money lost.
Those between the ages 60 and 69 lost the highest amount on average, about $81,000, reads the study. Those between ages 10 and 19 had lost the least, about $2,600 on average.
Online singles are often targeted by scammers on dating apps and social media, who “get them to fall in love,” reads Social Catfish’s website.
Common romance scam tactics, according to the CAFC, include asking for money for emergencies related to travel, medical or family, and invitations to join business ventures together.
Victims may be asked to receive money on behalf of their online paramours as well, and end up committing crimes unknowingly.
The CAFC has also noticed a recent increase in cryptocurrency investment scams linked to romance scams, which happen when victims are asked to invest in cryptocurrency and end up having their money or personal information stolen.
Decline in romance scams reported in Richmond
There may be some good news in Richmond, however, as Richmond RCMP is seeing a decline in reports of similar incidents over recent years.
According to Cpl. Dennis Hwang, Richmond RCMP spokesperson, police received 22 reports of romance scams in 2021, followed by nine in 2022. One incident has been reported so far in 2023.
Hwang thinks education and outreach efforts by Richmond RCMP’s Community Engagement Team and Fraud/Financial Crime Unit, along with public warnings, had contributed to the decline.
However, he cautioned against taking the numbers at face value.
“Due to the type of crime, it may not always be reported to us,” said Hwang.
Scammers know what they’re doing
As community members go online in their search for love, the CAFC warns that most scammers are not amateurs, and they will “use technology to their advantage.”
“These scammers are using advanced methods to appear legitimate and trick people into trusting them.”
Some signs of “catfishing” include:
- Scammers steal photos of very attractive and successful-looking people to create fake online accounts to lure people in. Use a reverse image search to see if their picture matches their name.
- It is highly unlikely someone will genuinely fall in love without spending time with you. Scammers will tend to avoid video chatting or meeting in person by making up excuses, and they might ask to switch quickly to a different mode of communication (such as email, text and WhatsApp).
- Scammers might send you poorly or oddly written messages or even address you by the wrong name.
- It can also be suspicious when someone claims to live near you but is working overseas.
- Manipulation tactics can involve the scammers acting distressed or guilting their victims, and they may try to isolate victims from those who may be suspicious of the relationship by discouraging victims from discussing their relationship with friends and family.
- The biggest red flag of a scammer is when they start asking for money and personal information despite never meeting you before. People behind the scams often ask to be paid with gift cards or bitcoin, which makes it difficult for authorities to track.
Victims of romance scams, or any type of scam, should contact their local police. They are also encouraged to report the incident to the CAFC.
