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BBB warns those who use dating Web sites to be wary of scammers who prey on unsuspecting victims.
The study – “Online Romance Scams: A Better Business Bureau Study on How Scammers Use Impersonation, Blackmail and Trickery to Steal from Unsuspecting Daters” – says the scheme can take a number of months to play out as the scammer gains the victim’s trust.
The scammer eventually will begin to ask for small amounts of money to test the victim, then will ask for more and more. Victims often turn into unknowing accomplices of money laundering.
The study recommends that law enforcement agencies share more information about successful romance fraud prosecutions, do more training, and prosecute more cases.
BBB recommends online dating and social media apps and sites do more to screen, identify, and remove profiles used for scams. There also needs to be more support services offered for romance fraud victims.
“We believe that this is an under-reported crime with many victims too embarrassed to report what has happened to them,” said Lori Wilson, president and chief executive officer of BBB serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California. “Victims can be wiped out financially and emotionally. If you are going to use an online dating site, it’s vital that you know that the person on the other end of the conversation is who they say they are.”
Wilson added that “while many people have great success online, be sure to use common sense and listen to your internal radar.”
A California woman, Ann, lost $22,000 to a romance scam and is now totally broke, in credit card debt, and living with her daughter.
A year after her husband died, Ann decided to try online dating. Before long she heard from a man who called himself “Wayne King.” They began communicating, first through a dating Web site and then over text. King claimed to be a 66-year-old living in Pasadena who owned a company in Maryland.
He tried to gain Ann’s confidence by showing her “evidence” that proved his bank account contained more than $1 million. When King said his daughter was in the hospital, Ann sent some money to help.
Then King said he was in Beijing, but was having trouble shipping goods for his business to the U.S. He asked Ann to help him pay to ship the goods through Malaysia to the U.S.
Over the course of a month, Ann sent King $22,000 on the strength of his promises to pay her back. Later, King asked her to buy him four iPhones and a Macbook Pro. She maxed out her credit cards to buy these and ship them to him, again on the promise that King would pay her back. He never did.
At 69 years old, she is now taking medication for anxiety, may need heart surgery and is filing for bankruptcy. Her daughters told her she needed to report this, and Ann went to the police and also reported it to BBB. Despite the heartache she has suffered, she agreed to share her story to help keep others from suffering through a similar experience.
Among the report’s key findings:
– There is no “typical” victim of romance fraud. They can be any gender, age, or sexual orientation. The common denominator is that they are seeking a loving relationship, and they believe they have found it.
– Scammers often pretend to be U.S. military members. Military officials say they receive thousands of complaints yearly from scam victims around the world. Officials note military members will never need money for leave or health care.
– The majority of romance fraud has its home in West Africa, particularly Nigeria. There also are groups that operate in Russia and the Ukraine that employ online dating sites to defraud victims.
At any one time, there may be 25,000 scammers online working to defraud victims. A company that screens profiles for dating companies told BBB that 500,000 of the 3.5 million profiles it scans monthly are fake – around 15 percent.
The report was prepared by C. Steven Baker, BBB International Investigations Specialist. Baker is the retired director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Midwest Region.
In his role with BBB, Baker is working with an alliance of five BBB’s, including the Oakland office, in analyzing and reporting on some of the most pervasive fraud issues that impact American consumers. This is his third study released through BBB. A September 2017 study on puppy scams and a December 2017 study on tech support scams he authored each were met with worldwide media coverage.
BBB offers the following tips for daters to avoid being caught in a romance scam:
– Protect your identity and your wallet. Scammers prefer prepaid cards and money transfers. Never send money or any personal information to someone you’ve never met in person. Phone conversations or “meeting” someone via a video call doesn’t mean they’re not a scammer. Also, be cautious revealing any personal information or doing anything you might regret later when using video applications. Some scammers use software to record video calls and then use it to extort money from victims. Don’t succumb to pleas of financial crisis.
– Think before going from public to private. Be hesitant if the conversation moves from a social media or a dating site to a more private form of communication like email, instant messaging, or texting. Dating sites often monitor messages to prevent scams, and scammers will try to use this strategy to draw you in without other people interfering.
– Do your research. Pour over the profile image and description. If it sounds too good to be true, verify it. You can perform a reverse image search to see if profile photos have been used on other websites. You can also copy a portion of their biography and search to see if it’s been used on other sites. Scammers often use the same profile details and photos on multiple sites.
– Ask for details and get specific. Request other forms of identification, like a photo of them holding a piece of paper with their username on it. Ask specific questions about details in their profile. If they claim to be a military member, ask for their official military address as those all end in @mail.mil. Scammers likely will make excuses for why they can’t provide you more information.
Pay attention to communication. Be wary of bad grammar and misspelled words. No one is perfect, but if mistakes often are repeated, it may suggest they aren’t from where they claim. Be on guard for use of pet names, discussions of marriage, or professions of love early in correspondence.
– Report it. If you feel like you’ve been victimized, report it to BBB Scam Tracker, the Federal Trade Commission and FBI.
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The attorneys general stand together to argue that forced arbitration requirements regarding sexual harassment claims are unjust and that Congress must support legislation to ensure that victims of sexual harassment retain the right to have their claims heard in court.
The letter additionally raises concerns about the secrecy that often accompanies the resolution of charges of workplace sexual harassment or violence.
“Sexual harassment and violence strike at the very core of a civilized society -- who we say we are. No one should experience such horror, and anyone who does deserves their day in court,” said Attorney General Becerra. “All employees deserve to work in an environment where they are treated with dignity and value, free from harm or disrespect. We should be in the business of making it easier, not harder, for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace to come forward. My fellow Attorneys General and I urge Members of Congress to ensure that the justice system is open to all, and that those responsible for misconduct will be held accountable.”
Mandatory arbitration clauses prevent workers from going to court when they believe their rights have been violated.
These workers are instead forced into private arbitration, and they can be forced to give up their right to sue, participate in class actions, or appeal an adverse decision.
This letter, sponsored by the attorneys general of North Carolina and Florida, was signed by the Attorneys General of nearly every U.S. state, as well as the District of Columbia and four territories.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
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"As insurance commissioner and the leader of the largest consumer protection agency in the state, my top priority is protecting consumers," said Commissioner Jones. "Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated professionals and the authority given to me under Proposition 103, we succeeded in recovering over $81 million for California consumers."
Last year the department's consumer hotline received over 147,000 calls for assistance. Through the department's complaint handling efforts, staff recovered more than $62.4 million for consumers in 2017.
Additionally, the department performed 125 market conduct examinations, resulting in more than $18.9 million in recovered claims or premiums being returned to consumers.
Since Commissioner Jones took office in 2011, more than $469 million has been returned to consumers through the department's direct intervention.
Due to Proposition 103, in 2017 the department also saved consumers over $271 million in proposed insurance rate increases. Since 2003, $3.7 billion in proposed insurance rate increases has been saved by policyholders.
Proposition 103, passed by California voters in November 1988, establishes the Insurance Commissioner's authority to approve rates set by insurance companies.
It requires the commissioner's "prior approval" before insurance companies can implement property and casualty insurance rates.
The ballot measure also required each insurer to roll back its rates 20 percent.
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The new www.BuyCaliforniaBonds.com Web site offers greater efficiency and transparency to investors looking to invest confidently as they support California infrastructure projects.
“I am on a mission to make California government more transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the public through technological innovation,” said Treasurer Chiang. “By making the ‘what, when and why’s’ about the state’s finances, debt, and economic outlook available with a simple mouse click, I hope to entice more investors to finance projects of critical importance to our state, from transportation and clean water to schools and affordable housing.”
The new Web portal is a gateway to thousands of pages of financial data and documents about the state’s bond sales. Individual investors and institutional investors will find the site rewardingly simple to use.
New features include:
– A streamlined homepage that makes it easier to locate the website’s most viewed information.
Numerous investor resources, including financial documents and reports, bond ratings, bond sale information, frequently asked questions, contact information, and more.
– The ability to receive notifications about upcoming bond sales and whenever new documents are posted.
“More data that is easy to access and slice-and-dice will translate into more investor interest. More investors mean more competition and – ultimately – better deals for California taxpayers,” said Chiang.
The launch of the Web site coincides with the start of the 2018 bond sale season. The first offering utilizing the new BuyCaliforniaBonds.com website will be Feb. 22 when the iBank begins its sale of green revenue bonds for clean water projects.
During 2017, the State Treasurer’s Office sold more than $8.8 billion in general obligation bonds, $877 million in lease revenue bonds and $5.1 billion in revenue bonds for state agencies and universities.
Since Treasurer Chiang took office in January 2015, refunding has resulted in approximately $6.4 billion in public savings over the remaining life of the bonds.
BuyCaliforniaBonds.com is the third government transparency Web site launched by Chiang as State Treasurer. Earlier this year, he introduced California’s first online business development gateway, CBIG, to spur job creation and economic expansion in the state. In 2015, Chiang launched the award-winning DebtWatch Web site, which allows anyone in California to be a citizen watchdog and monitor precisely how taxpayer dollars are being spent within a community.