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WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – As Valentine’s Day approaches, investigators are warning about romance scams that target older people through online relationships designed to steal money.
Lieutenant Jerry Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said these scams don’t happen overnight. A romance scam takes months, if not years, to play out, he said.
“They are winning you over. They’re very persuasive. They’re very good at speaking,” Brewer said. “And they’re also targeting, for the most part, they’re targeting the senior demographic.”
Scammers prey on loneliness and the fact that most seniors are retired and have some money, Brewer said. The fraudsters typically claim they need money to save for a home, pay a bill, or cover expenses to enter the country.
Another variation involves scammers sending fraudulent checks to victims. The banking system initially provides the money, but when the check is deemed fraudulent a week later, victims are responsible for repaying the bank.
“So there are a lot of different scams. It’s constantly, you know, one way we fix that, and there were arrests for that. And then a new one comes up,” Brewer said.
Evolving scams are something Nicole Cordero, Community Outreach Manager for Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Carolinas, knows all too well.
Cordero said the scams have evolved beyond traditional methods. Scammers now build trust with victims before convincing them to invest money through cryptocurrency platforms.
“The biggest thing now that we’re seeing that’s a new twist on romance scams is scammers getting people to trust them, opening up to them, telling them a sad story, and then getting that victim to give them money via cryptocurrency,” Cordero said.
The median loss from romance scams is $6,100, according to BBB data. Romance scams ranked third among the riskiest scams in the organization’s latest risk report.
“People have lost less, people have lost more. But it just goes to show you that this is still happening, and it is still like a lot of headaches that come from this,” Cordero said.
Scammers are using artificial intelligence to create convincing fake photos and videos, making it harder for victims to detect fraud. The technology allows overseas scammers to appear as residents and create realistic video messages.
“They can use AI in a variety of ways, like write to you. And in case they’re overseas, they can make it seem like they’re totally like your neighbor next door,” Cordero said.
Scammers can also create AI-generated videos to make it appear they are the person the victims have been communicating with online.
Cordero recommends using reverse image searches on photos sent by potential romantic interests. If the same image appears on multiple websites, it’s likely stolen.
The biggest red flag is when someone refuses to meet virtually or in person, often claiming they are deployed overseas or have poor internet service.
“If there are red flags, such as you’ve seen their photo come up on a reverse image search or they just won’t talk to you face-to-face. Those are red flags that you just want to stop talking to them,” Cordero said.
But Lieutenant Brewer said preventing these scams starts with keeping an eye on your family.
“It’s really imperative that you are communicating with your parents, a loved one, or a relative and knowing what they’re doing. Are they giving away money? Have they met someone, and have they met them, or is it only online?” Brewer said.
But by the time family members or law enforcement get involved, victims have often already given away significant sums of money or have completely believed the scammer, Brewer said.
Some red flags to look for in a romance scam include someone refusing to meet you in person and someone you’ve never met in person asking you for money.
Victims who send money to romance scammers are unlikely to get it back, according to investigators.
“Anytime you’re dealing with money over the internet, over the phone, it should be a red flag,” Brewer said. “Unless you, you know, absolutely know you’re sending it to your son, your daughter, that type of thing.”
Brewer said artificial intelligence technology will likely worsen these scams, making family communication even more critical for prevention.
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