Guard Your Heart and Your Bank Account: How to Prevent Romance Fraud This Valentine’s Day and Beyond 

February 14, Valentine’s Day, is merely the opening act for romance scams. As we move toward Spring and Summer, activity on dating apps (eg. Tinder/Bumble), social platforms (eg. Instagram/X) and e-commerce apps (eg. Uber/Doordash) skyrockets. These apps offer ample opportunities for fraudsters to attack. Under the cloak of online anonymity, criminals use these platforms to develop trust with a potential partner and then orchestrate a scam. Even the FBI is warning those seeking companionship online. Not only do these attacks pose a significant financial burden for those who fall victim, but they also often leave victims psychologically scarred and emotionally isolated. 

But where does the responsibility lie, and how can people protect themselves? While the onus should fall on those who run these platforms to intervene and prevent these crimes, fraudsters have become highly sophisticated, and it’s imperative that end-users are educated about the risks and take precautions. This requires businesses to strike a balance between bolstering security measures and minimizing user disruption. Before we explore how platforms and end-users can protect themselves against fraud, let’s dive deeper into the most common types of online dating fraud, how they work and the fallout.   

The Evolution of Romance Fraud & What to Look Out For 

The concept of romance fraud first originated in the 16th century, known as the “Spanish Prisoner”.  Con artists posed as imprisoned wealthy individuals seeking bail. While the concept holds today, much has changed. Digital technology and the latest advancements in AI and deepfakes amplify fraudsters’ reach, scale and success rate. More than a quarter of consumers have experienced some kind of AI- or deepfake-generated fraud over the past year, a striking result for an emerging technology and an indication of the growing nature of this threat. Today, romance fraud is the leading category on the Federal Trade Commission’s fraud list.   

Amid the ramp-up of AI-generated attacks, the nature of romance scams and how they play out can vary significantly. Here are a few different tactics to watch out for: 

• The Emergency Scheme: Much like the “Spanish Prisoner”, when an emergency scheme is executed, the scammer fabricates a crisis. While a prisoner is one potential character, the individual may pretend to be an authority figure like a lawyer or police officer, but the end goal is always the same, a request for you to send them money – quickly.  

• Love Scam Trap: This is when a fraudster lures an individual into investment schemes. Scammers will lay on the charm to earn their “partners’” trust over weeks or even months before tricking them into investing in stocks, bonds and cryptocurrency, among others. This places the victim at the center of the crime, potentially putting them in legal jeopardy. 

• Military Romance Scams: These types of scams can take two different forms. It can occur when a member of military personnel is targeted by bad actors posing as a regulator requesting money or when a scammer poses as military personnel and requests funds from a victim to apply for a “leave request” to meet in person, for example.  

• Pig Butchering: This type of romance fraud is highly thought out and can have devastating implications. Victims are manipulated over a period of time, similar to the love scam trap, via dating apps or social media, often through fake online relationships. The goal is to invest large sums of money – usually in cryptocurrency. 

• Blackmail Scams: Finally and potentially the most psychologically damaging, scammers blackmail victims with something that could expose them, such as embarrassing information or an intimate video. Dating apps and social platforms often serve as prime hunting grounds for these bad actors, and the impact of such scams can be devastating and costly.  

The Consequences of Romance Fraud: Lessons From “The Tinder Swindler” 

While the above fraud tactics can have serious consequences on a victim’s well-being, the combination of financial and psychological damage wrought by emotional scams can have deeply devastating effects. Take Cecilie Fjellhøy’s story, for example. She gained recognition as the fraud victim in the 2022 Netflix documentary, The Tinder Swindler. Cecilie was defrauded for over a quarter of a million dollars and creditors held her personally responsible. Her ‘boyfriend’, Simon Leviev, was a fraud, cloaking himself under the guise of romance to secure financial gain.   

Cecilie’s story represents more conventional fraud tactics, while most recently, a romance scammer utilized AI-generated content to impersonate actor, Brad Pitt. These instances collectively cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and underscore how fraud strategies are evolving.  

The Impact on the Business & The Double-Edge Sword of Frictionless Customer Service  

Romance scams cause not only financial ruin and emotional devastation but also significant reputational damage to online platforms. These scams can erode user trust and negatively impact signups and retention. Over 86% of decision-makers report that customers demand strong fraud prevention, making it in a business’s best interest to address these concerns and combat the acceleration of romance scams. 

As romance scams rise, customers will become skeptical of quick-sign ups that don’t verify their identity. In fact, 75% of people consider a company’s track record on fraud prevention before signing up. To effectively combat romance fraud, online dating and social media platforms must introduce a level of friction. While this friction is often seen negatively, businesses should emphasize that this friction is a vital part of fraud prevention and, therefore, strong customer service. Implementing identity verification and proactive fraud checks helps protect users’ data and money while preventing fraud before it happens.  

Here are four steps businesses can take to insert positive friction into their layered security strategy to safeguard users from online scams: 

1. Verify ID Documentation: Before granting access to the platform, organizations should verify that ID documents match the person signing up. This protects users from scams and ensures that interactions are with real individuals, whose photos accurately reflect their appearance. 

1. Utilize Biometric Technology: This type of technology confirms that a user’s identity matches their ID. This adds an extra layer of security, ensuring that only legitimate users access dating apps, social platforms and e-commerce sites, while still fostering trust and not deterring signups.   

1. Stop Bad Actors from Re-Entering: Users who have previously been banned from a site should be prevented from creating new accounts, blocking repeat offenders from accessing the platform. 

1. Leverage AI for Fraud Detection: While AI poses a potential threat in the wrong hands, it can also be used to our advantage. Organizations should enable behavioral analysis to detect suspicious patterns, like mismatched IP addresses or multiple accounts from the same device, helping to identify potential fraud before it escalates. 

Valentine’s Day marks just the start of fraudsters’ efforts to exploit individuals with charm before striking at the opportune moment. This makes it essential for both businesses and customers to educate themselves about these threats and remain vigilant. Without this awareness, as illustrated by Cecilie Fjellhoy’s experience, the consequences of romance scams can be devastating. By staying alert and taking proactive steps, such as those outlined above, we can collectively create a safer digital environment and significantly reduce the impact of romance fraud.