- Romance scams are on the rise
- A team of researchers has identified common characteristics of scammers by reviewing the scientific literature on this subject
- They also make suggestions to dating apps and sites.
It was a red flag that didn’t really have any effect. In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) showed that romance scams, the scam of extorting money from someone by forming a fake long-distance romantic relationship with them, were on the rise. That year, the agency indicated that American Internet users lost $304 million, a new record and a 50% increase compared to 2019.
Since then, things have gotten worse and new technologies have made it easier for cybercriminals, notably ChatGPT, and deepfakes. Researchers from the University of Abertay in the UK are very interested in this subject, and they have just published an interesting article in this regard.
Recurring methods
By sifting through 232 scientific studies on romance scams, they were indeed able to establish common traits among scammers. What better to know their practices to anticipate them.
First of all, we note that these malicious actors generally proceed in three stages. At first, they start the conversation with the victim in an innocuous way. They then strengthen their relationship with their target in order to make them addicted. It’s only after a third time, and once she’s emotionally attached, that they start asking for money.
During this phase, they instill a sense of urgency and an electric shock in their interlocutor. They make him believe that they are in a situation of extreme danger and that they must be helped very quickly.
It seems that the military theme comes up quite often in this context, and they report a dangerous mission and/or medical or legal problems, bills to be paid urgently, etc.
Reacting when you are a victim of this type of scam is not easy, but by knowing better the strategies of the scammers, you are able to better spot them.
Dating platforms and apps have a role to play in this regard. Moreover, the researchers suggest in particular to introduce systems to better detect fake online profiles, but also AI that identifies the linguistic patterns and phrases often used in the context of these romance scams. Finally, the dissemination of documents and advice for victims is also necessary.
