Valentine's Day is a celebration of love, relationships, and romance. However, while some try to steal your heart, others are more interested in your cryptocurrency.
Fraudulent schemes in which criminals exploit romantic relationships to steal digital assets are becoming increasingly popular. According to some reports, in 2022, nearly 70,000 American citizens fell victim to such crypto criminals, resulting in a cumulative loss of $1.3 billion. We delve into what crypto romance scams are, real-life cases, and basic precautionary measures.
What are crypto romance scams?
Crypto romance scams are a category of fraudulent schemes that involve the formation of romantic relationships with the #victim with the aim of stealing cryptocurrency.
Criminals are attracted to digital assets because transactions with them are challenging to trace. Finding and punishing a #scammer who has stolen your bitcoins, especially if they have used privacy protection measures, is practically impossible.
Analysts from Chainalysis warn that crypto romance scams could become one of the main threats in 2024. However, the actual statistics of #crypto romance scams may differ from the recorded ones since not every victim is willing to admit that the person they had genuine feelings for deceived them.
How scammers operate
The main goal of a fraudster is to gain the trust of the victim and make them develop warm feelings towards a new acquaintance. To achieve this, scammers may use pre-collected information, including data obtained through fake dating websites. These platforms serve the purpose of gathering sensitive information. Knowing who appeals to a potential victim allows the creation of an ideal image that the victim will fall in love with.
Scammers employing crypto romance #scam techniques do not engage directly with their victims—all relationships remain online. Therefore, if someone who has caught your interest vehemently refuses to meet in person or even engage in an online video call, while hinting at financial difficulties, it is a reason to be cautious.
Once the primary goal of establishing a romantic connection with the victim is accomplished, it is time for active actions. The scammer's objective is to obtain cryptocurrency. To achieve this, they may exploit the victim's vulnerabilities. For instance, if during the acquaintance, the scammer pretended to be an employee of a major company sent on a business trip, they might suddenly encounter financial problems in a foreign country. The only person who can save them from hunger and inevitable death is you. All that is needed is to transfer cryptocurrency, as sending fiat money to another country under sanctions is practically impossible.
There are other approaches that help scammers gain access to funds. Here are a few examples:
Blackmail: During romantic exchanges, a scammer may coax explicit photos or sensitive information from the victim and then threaten to publish them. Resolving the issue typically involves a cryptocurrency bribe.Malware Scams: A scammer may send you a link that infects your device with malware. Such programs can steal wallet access codes.Verification Code Scam: The scammer may leverage the victim's trust to steal money through a verification code. They may convince the person that the code is needed for other purposes, such as creating a joint bank account for a bright future together. In reality, this scheme could grant the scammer access to the victim's exchange account.
After obtaining the money, scammers disappear, taking with them promises of great and pure love.
"Love" Stories
John and Liddy
John met Liddy on the popular dating app Tinder. She introduced herself as a young owner of a clothing store in Asia and quickly suggested moving to WhatsApp for further communication.
Initially, everything went well. However, at one point, the scammer proposed that John invest in a high-yield platform. Initially cautious, John invested small amounts and followed Liddy's instructions. This even allowed John to make a small profit, which he successfully withdrew.
This turn of events strengthened John's trust but, at the same time, dulled his vigilance. When he attempted to withdraw a large sum, the app blocked the transaction and demanded payment of a 30% tax within 72 hours. John had to give up all the money; otherwise, his entire account was at risk.
In two months, John lost over $100,000 in cryptocurrency, and Liddy disappeared without a trace.
George and Mary
Mary found George through Facebook Dating, and their relationship progressed rapidly—they even planned to move in together. However, a misfortune occurred: one day, George told Mary that his account had been frozen, leaving him without funds for survival.
At that time, he purportedly was in Cyprus but actually lived in the United Kingdom. Due to the account freeze, George couldn't return home. The only person the scammer could rely on for help was Mary, who lent him $20,000. George promised to repay everything, but in the end, he simply disappeared.
Michael and Rose
Michael met Rose on social media. She presented herself as a crypto trader and immediately showed a special interest in him. As their relationship developed rapidly, Michael's trust grew. After some time, he decided to entrust Rose with his money for investments.
As expected, she promised him high profits. Michael transferred over $500,000 in cryptocurrency to her but only later realized where his money had gone. By that time, he had lost all his savings and even his apartment. Rose assured him that they would soon buy a place together.
However, this story ended on a more positive note. Michael sought help from law enforcement, who assisted him in recovering $200,000. In reality, such outcomes are relatively rare, according to analysts at Binance.
How to Avoid Falling Victim?
There are several recommendations that can help protect yourself from crypto romance scams:
Do not trust people you have never met in real life or at least in online meetings.Verify information about your conversation partner. For example, it's worth doing a reverse image search on their profile picture using a search engine. Scammers often use stolen photos. Image search can help identify the real owner of the photo.Excessive openness from your conversation partner and attempts to quickly build a relationship should raise suspicion. Do not rush into relationships. Try to ask more questions and notice any inconsistencies in their stories. If they constantly cancel in-person meetings, be vigilant. Avoiding personal meetings is a red flag.Do not disclose information about your financial situation to unfamiliar individuals. Do not reveal that you own cryptocurrency. Also, never share information that could help someone gain access to your assets. For example, avoid sharing the email address associated with your exchange account. Information leaks from trading platforms, combined with crypto romance scam techniques, could give scammers access to your coins.Do not transfer money to unfamiliar people unless you have evidence of the honesty of their motives.Never click on suspicious links sent by new acquaintances.Do not blindly invest in projects proposed by new acquaintances.If you use dating apps, communicate only within the confines of those services. Scammers often suggest switching to messenger apps, not for convenience, but to avoid detection.
Conclusion
Scammers take advantage of people's trust and their desire to build strong relationships. To protect yourself from romantic crypto scams, it's essential to set aside emotions and analyze the actions of the online persona trying to gain your trust.