Romance Scams have Increased in 2021 Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic
chromas writes:
For decades, many people have fallen for romance scams all across the world. They use social media platforms, dating apps, and emails to get their hands on your hard-earned money so that they can live the lifestyle of their dreams. Romance scammers will go to the lengths of pretending to fall in love with you in order to drain your bank account. In 2020, a record-breaking $304,000,000 was lost in the United States due to romance scams. It has risen up to 50% since 2019, showing that the rate of romance scams has increased significantly due to the coronavirus.
There are many people that go onto dating apps and scroll on their social media platforms on a daily basis. A lot of these people are looking for love and will do whatever it takes to find that special companion. However, romance scammers plague many of these apps, looking to find their next victim to be a part of their scam.
They spam their victims' inboxes with cheesy cute quotes that make these innocent victims fall fast and hard for them. The victims fall for these phrases and talk to the romance scammer consistently, forming a romantic relationship with them.
Since these victims are so happy, they don't realize that the romance scammer is rushing their relationship at a faster than normal rate. They also fail to notice the countless times a romance scammer refuses to video chat with them or meet them in person due to a plethora of excuses.
Once the romance scammer talks to them for a few weeks, they start asking for small amounts of money. They usually claim that they need money for groceries, help to pay bills or to see their victim. Then as the conversations continue, they start asking for big amounts due to fake emergencies such as a work emergency, hospital bills, or a financial crisis.
The romance scammer continues to ask their victims for money until the victim can't give them any more money. The romance scammer tries to guilt trip more money out of them if the victims say no, telling them that they need to help their loved one out. The romance scammer blocks their victims once they get the money they need.
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