Key takeaways
In the case of a romance scam, a criminal assumes a false identity and claims to have fallen in love with you in a relatively short period of time.
If you're in an exclusively online romantic relationship with a "very special someone" and they ask you to send them money, buy them gifts, or make an investment for them, don't rush to comply. to his desires.
Do you think you are the victim of a romantic scam? Report the situation immediately to the relevant local authorities and the Binance customer service team.
Protect yourself from romance scams. This week in How to Survive Scams, discover the methods scammers use to gain your trust and learn how to spot and report profiles used in romance scams.
Millions of people frequent online dating sites or applications, or use social networks to find their soul mate. For those who are lucky enough to find that rare gem on the Web, it is sometimes a dizzying experience, which pushes them to put love above all else.
Unfortunately, scammers take advantage of Internet users looking for a partner, and lurk in online dating spaces to melt their hearts… and their crypto balance.
Below we present some common romance scams which we will illustrate with concrete examples. Try to spot the warning signs, and stay vigilant: some of these scammers are particularly good at seducing their victims and extorting their cryptos.
How Scammers Melt Their Targets’ Hearts and Crypto Wallet Balances
1. Lure a victim
The first step in any good romance scam is to attract a victim. To do this, scammers generally create fake online profiles in order to charm their prey and avoid getting caught. They may assume false identities, such as socialites, military personnel, aid workers or agents abroad.
Often, the scammer uses their victim's interests against them and will adapt their personality to suit their tastes. If your budding relationship seems perfect in every way, be wary: your interlocutor may be trying to please you by sharing your interests.
In most cases, scammers assert their role from the beginning of the relationship to ensure the authenticity of their profile. For example, if they pose as a very wealthy socialite, they may send photos of sports cars, very expensive watches and luxury items during their first interactions with the victim.
Even if they lurk on dating apps and sites, some scammers claim to have the wrong recipient, hoping that the victim will take the bait and continue the conversation.
2. Flirt without meeting
When his or her victim is genuinely interested in him or her, the scammer will work to develop a stable relationship between them. He/She can go to great lengths to gain her trust: shower her with affection, trust her with fabricated secrets, or even send her gifts.
Romance scammers often confess their feelings relatively early in the relationship, but the most cunning scammers will take the time to build what appears to be the romance of your life for months, even pretending to reserve plane tickets to come and meet you without ever keeping their promise.
It's sometimes difficult to distinguish genuine interactions from a fabricated relationship, but if you've never met your "other half" in person, you probably have cause for concern.
3. Request money or cryptos
“I would like to come see you, but the plane ticket is way too expensive. »
“I just discovered an investment opportunity that would allow me to earn money and buy us a house. »
“Could you lend me some money? My father is very ill, and we cannot afford to pay for his treatment. »
You are in love, and he/she is in debt. When the scammer knows that he/she has seduced his/her victim, he/she will usually start asking them for money or crypto. He/She can claim a personal emergency, for example a family member who needs immediate medical care, or temporary financial assistance that he/she needs following some setbacks such as a failed business start-up or an assault in the street. He/She can also strike a chord by asking, for example, for a plane ticket to transform the long-distance relationship into a more concrete one, or for funds for a secret “lucrative investment” to finance a future marriage.
Bottom line: if you're in a relationship with someone you met online and he/she asks you for money or crypto, it's probably a romance scam.
Concrete examples
Example #1: A romantic relationship with a soldier
The user, who we'll call Lucy, meets "a soldier" named Jack. At the start of their relationship, Jack describes his daily life in the army to Lucy, and after a few days of almost constant messages, they exchange phone numbers and add each other on WhatsApp to continue to develop their budding relationship.
They declare their love for each other shortly after, and Jack promises Lucy to meet her as soon as he leaves the army, in three months. Only problem: he needs money to pay for his plane trip.
Eager to meet her fiancé, Lucy follows Jack's instructions and transfers funds to his deposit address from Binance.
As soon as the transfer is validated, Jack disappears into thin air, breaking Lucy's heart in the process: she has been the victim of a romantic fraud.
Example #2: A Fake Investment Opportunity
A user receives a message from someone claiming to be a socialite, business owner, CEO, self-made millionaire, or similar identity, with in which he/she begins to form very close bonds. In most cases, these scammers openly display their luxurious lifestyle on the networks.
After flaunting his fortune on Instagram or in messages sent to his victim, the scammer confides in him the “secret of his success” and invites him to follow his example.
However, these “investment opportunities” are fake investment projects or outright scams.
Other examples
Pay taxes or administrative fees. The scammer explains to his/her victim that he/she needs to transfer a large sum of money out of their country and asks them to pay the related “administrative fees” or “administrative taxes”.
Tips to avoid falling into the trap of romantic scams
Beware of fake lovers online
Scammers' messages are often poorly written and vague, so watch out for spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistencies in what they say, and other signs that suggest they are not who they are. /they claim. For example, if the person you're talking to avoids meeting you in public or if their camera never works during video calls, exercise caution.
An online relationship that evolves too quickly and goes from simple cordiality to fiery declarations should also alert you.
Check your potential partner's past before getting more involved in the relationship. You can use image search apps like TinEye or Google reverse search to verify that this person is who they say they are. You can also type their full name into a search engine with their job and keywords like "scammer", "romance scam" or "dating app scam".
Never send money to someone you haven't met in person.
If you have been scammed
If you have given personal information to a scammer, immediately cancel your cards and notify your bank. To protect your funds, we advise you to change the passwords of your bank and crypto accounts.
Call the police and give them all the evidence you have: although it is not guaranteed, you may be able to recover the funds you lost if the culprit is arrested.
Report the scammer's profile to the website, app, or social media platform where you met them. Don't forget any details: they could prevent other Internet users from falling into the trap in turn.
If you have been the victim of a romance scam and sent funds from Binance, report the situation immediately by following the steps in this guide: How to Report a Scam on Binance Customer Support?
We also recommend that all users, regardless of their seniority on the platform, read all the articles in our How to Survive Scams series to best prepare themselves to combat the most common crypto scams.
For more information
(Blog) How to Survive Scams: The Complete Guide to the Most Common Crypto Scams
(Blog) How to Survive Scams: Fake Crypto Investments to Be Wary of
(Blog) How to Survive Scams: The Red Flags of an Imposter Scam
(Blog) How to Survive Scams: Fake Job Offers to Be Wary of
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