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
• Cristal Gonzalez :
Contact
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
McAfee has published new research suggesting fake profiles and AI-generated bots are now a common feature of online dating in the UK. One in five people said they have encountered an inauthentic account while looking for a relationship. The company’s consumer survey also points to a growing role for AI in dating-app and social-platform deception....Read More
Hi Seal Beach! Romance scams are not new, but the modern versions are more sophisticated than most people realize. One of the fastest-growing types is often called “pig butchering,” where a scammer builds trust over time and then drains a person financially. It is calculated, and it can happen to anyone. These scams often start...Read More
