Especially on Valentine’s Day, law enforcement officials are warning residents not to look for love in all the wrong places.
“Criminals know it’s Valentine’s Day,” said FBI Chicago spokesman Garrett H. Croon. “People are vulnerable around Valentine’s Day, and criminals are targeting people who are vulnerable.”
In Lake County, romance scams are not uncommon, Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.
“We take reports frequently from people who have been scammed out of money (or) their financial identification has been compromised,” he said.
Criminals prey largely on women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, or disabled Croon said, although all demographic groups are at risk.
Although internet and telephone scams are not uncommon, romance scams usually start through an initial contact online, such as internet dating sites, Croon said. After days, weeks or months of chats and exchanges, including sending photos and possibly flowers or other gifts, the criminals will ask for money, often claiming they want to see the victim, but don’t have money to travel.
“The advice of the FBI is don’t send money to people you haven’t met in person,” Croon said. “Tell them you’re not going to send them money, and the real intention will show through.”
Victims are often asked to send money through a wire transfer, which typically routes to another country, Croon said. It is “extra difficult to recover those funds” internationally, he said. Once a victim sends money, the requests continue, and often include cashing checks for the criminals, who claim to be out of the country, and sometimes forwarding packages, he said.
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“In addition to losing your money to someone who had no intention of ever visiting you, you may also have unknowingly taken part in a money laundering scheme by cashing phony checks and sending the money overseas and by shipping stolen merchandise,” by forwarding packages, Croon said.
Covelli advised that anyone using an online dating site should always use that site or app for their communication. The FBI said a common scam is for a criminal to make initial contact with a person through an online dating site, then move the conversation to another site, where the talk turns intimate, Croon said. The victims are then blackmailed, asked to pay ransom to have their private conversations and photos removed from public websites, Croon said.
“If someone you meet online is asking for personal information, you should be very suspect of that and you should never provide any personal info,” Covelli said. “These scam artists are very good at what they do.”
One option for anyone who believes they have been a victim of a scam is to file a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Lake County News-Sun.