Via FTC: Reports of romance scams are growing, and costing people a lot of cash. According to new FTC data, the number of romance scams people report to the FTC has nearly tripled since 2015. Even more, the total amount of money people reported losing in 2019 is six times higher than it was five years ago – from $33 million lost to romance scammers in 2015 to $201 million in 2019. People reported losing more money to romance scams in the past two years than to any other fraud reported to the FTC.
More information available on the FTC’s romance scam page, as well as in a video. Information about FTC complaint data can be found at ftc.gov/exploredata, and consumers can file a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint.
See the State Department’s International Financial Scam page here.
For sending money to a U.S. citizen outside the United States, see guidance here.
To read more about OCS Trust, click here.
Consumers reported losing $201 million to romance scams in 2019 — up nearly 40% since 2018, new @FTC analysis finds https://t.co/B0wAujMWTg
— Michael Beckel (@mjbeckel) February 14, 2020
Online romance scams led to $211 million in financial losses in 2018 alone. #BeSmartWithYourHeart and check out these resources for U.S. citizens involved in relationships with people living abroad. https://t.co/eoXlcyM8By https://t.co/BILXezFrm3 pic.twitter.com/D9VZwMEgAB
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) February 13, 2020
Does your partner/friend that you met online need help abroad? You can send funds to any U.S. citizen abroad through an OCS Trust—a secure mechanism to be sure that the person you are sending money to is a U.S. citizen. #BeSmartWithYourHeart https://t.co/mZURZoCsFD pic.twitter.com/Kilk3e73vO
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) February 12, 2020