Falling in love is easy. Falling for a scam? The FBI warns it’s shockingly even easier.
Christopher Giordano, FBI Pittsburgh assistant special agent in charge, said people regularly fall victim to romance scams, but teens and older adults are the most common targets. The upcoming Valentine’s Day ups the ante.
A romance scam is when a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection. Once the scammer wins the victim’s trust, the scammer will leverage the illusion of the romantic relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim.
Giordano said scammers typically look for vulnerable targets, who may be feeling lonely around the holiday, and then build up a friendship that turns romantic over time. Because of the holiday’s nature, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for scammers to take advantage of people.
“Grooming is nothing new,” Giordano said about this type of criminal manipulation.
Adults ages 55 and older are most commonly approached about crypto and investment opportunities, while prepubescent teenagers more commonly experience sextortion.
On Monday the AARP Pennsylvania issued an alert to older adults to stay vigilant of romance scams, including catfishing schemes that exploit feelings of loneliness.
In 2024 the AARP reported that people aged 40-69 have been the most likely to report losing money to a romance scam. People ages 70 and over reported the highest median losses — $9,475 in 2020.
According to the FBI’s annual report, Pennsylvanians lost more than $30 million due to romance scams in 2024.
Most of the scams are being run out of centers in the Middle East and most of the time the victims don’t even know they are being scammed until someone else points it out, Giordano said.
The best way to avoid a scam is to never send money to someone you have not met in person, Giordano said.
He added that these fake relationships are often built slowly, with scammers sometimes waiting more than a year before asking for money.
“Don’t trust anybody until you are able to verify who they are,” Giordano said.
