Tinder Swindler (The Tinder Swindler) breaks records on Netflix. This document is a good warning against the growing phenomenon of marriage fraud in the world.

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According to the US Federal Trade Commission, “romantic” scammers last year managed to extort a record $547 million from US Internet users. And over the past five years, Americans have lost more than $1.3 billion in romance scams. This is more than any other fraud category monitored by the commission.

Romance scammers often create fake profiles containing attractive stolen photos online and use them to deceive potential victims. Sometimes they even assume the identity of real people to increase their credibility.

Romance is the bait

While many victims reported being contacted via dating apps like Tinder, others received unexpected private messages on social media platforms. More than a third of people who lost their money to an online romance scam in 2021 say it started on Facebook or Instagram.

To trick people into giving up their hard-earned money, romantic scammers make up all kinds of plausible stories, such as asking for help for a family member who has had a hard time with Covid-19, or explaining that they are having a big problem paying off their loans. Stories can also refer to a sick child or a temporary inability to get money for a variety of reasons.

See: Data as a Service

A growing trend that the commission noted last year was that scammers were using romance as a means of catching victims to lure victims into fake investments – many involving cryptocurrency. After victims come to believe that they are successful investors, these scammers provide those looking for love with investment opportunities that often include foreign exchange (forex) or cryptocurrency trading. However, following the advice of the scammer often results in the victims losing all the money invested.

In 2021, the largest reported losses related to cryptocurrency romance scams were paid out in the amount of $139 million. Someone must be very convincing here.

In addition, more people also reported that they paid scammers with romantic gift cards. This is a very popular payment method. In fact, nearly one in four people said they paid a fraudster with a gift card and the total loss here is $36 million in 2021.