RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar is warning of romance scams as Valentine’s Day approaches. Aguilar says the scams are a fast-growing form of fraud that blends emotional manipulation with fake investment opportunities. “Romance, friendship and other relationship investment scams prey on trust and emotion, often leaving victims with devastating financial...Read More
Scammers are using artificial intelligence to trick people looking for love this Valentine’s Day. Fraudsters are sending people AI-generated images, videos and voice messages over social media or email to establish trust and convince them they’re a real person, experts told NBC Los Angeles. Once scammers gain the potential victim’s trust, they ask the person...Read More
Feb 25 (Reuters) – OpenAI said it banned accounts linked to Chinese law enforcement, romance scammers and influence operations, including a smear campaign against Japan’s first woman prime minister, in a report detailing the misuse of its ChatGPT technology. The company said several accounts used its chatbot alongside other tools, including social media accounts, to...Read More
Was it love at first swipe? Federal authorities say social media users should be wary of online lovers this Valentine’s Day. San Antonians lost $28 million to confidence and romance scams last year, according to a news release from the FBI’s San Antonio division. The agency tracked 2025 reports to its Internet Crime Complaint Center. Confidence...Read More
DES MOINES, IOWA — A Connecticut man convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a series of romance scams that swindled victims out of $1.5 million has been sentenced to nine years in prison, officials said. Naabanyin Aniagyei-Cobbold, 30, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release during a March...Read More
In 2026, the search for connection increasingly begins online. People are matching on dating apps, meeting partners through social platforms and sliding into DMs in ways that feel casual, normal, even expected. As Valentine’s Day approaches, dating app usage spikes and so do romance scams. Cybercriminals know February is peak season for emotional outreach, when...Read More
Arizona seniors are falling victim to sophisticated romance scams that are draining their retirement savings and leaving them emotionally devastated. These digital predators are exploiting vulnerable adults through social media, dating apps, and even online games, with artificial intelligence making the deceptions increasingly difficult to detect. Joyce Petrowski learned firsthand about the devastating impact of...Read More
Friday, Feb 13, 2026
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Fangzhou Wang explains the tactics scammers use to gain victims’ trust for financial gain and shares practical advice on how to stay cautious online. (Adobe Stock) As online dating continues to grow, so do risks of romance scams that exploit trust for financial gain....Read More
A central London penthouse and helicopter have been seized by UK authorities after a raid on allies linked to a “romance scam kingpin”. The Government said on Thursday that it had frozen assets including a £9m apartment overlooking Buckingham Palace linked to individuals accused of running a network of romance scam centres in Cambodia. The...Read More
Romance fraud typically evokes images of people being tricked out of their life savings by partners they meet on dating sites, but some scammers use a different tactic: recruiting unsuspecting victims into fake insurance claims. The scam involves a fraudster convincing their partner, or a person they are dating, either to say they have witnessed...Read More
