Guest Column: Romance Scams Are in the Air
BOSTON — She believed it when the man online proposed marriage after a short courtship and said they were going to move away together, even though she'd never met him in person.
He said he could make the wedding and travel arrangements with her help. He would send her checks totaling $120,000 — and she could keep half — if she'd deposit them in the bank and then send him his half via a cash app like Venmo.
It turned out the checks were counterfeit and, if a Berkshire Bank financial center manager hadn't recognized the signs of a romance scam and thwarted the plan, she could have been liable for the total amount he received.
"If a new online relationship with someone you haven't met in person seems too good to be true, it probably is," said Tina Martin, head of the Security and Fraud Investigations Unit at Berkshire Bank.
"Romance scammers target lonely individuals looking for companionship by first gaining their affection and trust," Martin said. "These scammers are very good at what they do. They will do their best to get victims to send them money in ways that it's impossible to get it back."
As Valentine's Day nears and love is in the air, it's important to remember that online romance scams cost consumers more than $1 billion annually, with median losses of $2,000 per individual, the highest of any form of imposter scam, according to Federal Trade Commission estimates. Incidents always involve a scammer using a fake identity to gain a victim's affection and trust to steal money.
What are the signs of an online romance scam? Martin explains:
?? They profess strong emotions quickly. It might take a week or a month before they profess their love, but they are experts at finding someone who is lonely and reeling them in.
?? They can't meet you in person. They'll always have a reason, usually that they're living or working outside the country.
?? They want to move the conversation off the social media platform or dating site. If they don't, security algorithms might later detect them asking you for money and alert you to a possible scam.
?? They ask for money with urgency in ways that seem legitimate. It might be for a ticket to visit you, medical bills, or an increasingly common promise to increase your nest egg through cryptocurrency or other investments. There's always an urgent deadline and dollar amounts will increase over time if you begin complying.
?? They'll tell you how to send the money, usually in ways that are impossible to get it back. Popular methods: Wiring money, sending gift cards with the PIN codes and sending funds through money transfer apps like Venmo or PayPal.
"If you think you've fallen victim to a romance scam, contact your financial institution as quickly as possible," Martin said. "Do not delay because you're embarrassed or ashamed. The faster you report it, the more likely it is your financial institution can help reduce your losses."
For additional information, visit the main menu at
www.BerkshireBank.com, select Security Tips and then select "Romance Scams."
Tags: scams,
