Wooed to ruin

How to avoid being swindled online

There are commonsense steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim and adding your story to these growing statistics.

If you’re a high-earning professional, especially one with an advanced degree — which was roughly 14% of the U.S. population in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — be on high alert. Romance and confidence scammers are particularly attracted to this class, according to the volunteer-run Global Anti-Scam Organization.

Be wary of sharing personal information even before you interact with someone online, as “scammers can use the information that’s shared on social media and dating sites to better understand and target you,” Setera said.

The same holds doubly true for financial information: “You should also never disclose your current financial status to people you don’t know or trust. Don’t provide your banking information, Social Security number, or any other sensitive information to anyone you haven’t met, or to a website that you don’t know is legitimate,” Setera said.

Trust in the old adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” If your recent online fling suddenly begins hounding you about money opportunities with promises of great returns, get out. If the person persists despite your discomfort, learn from Tsai’s mistake and trust that the red flags are, in fact cause for concern. Here are some examples:

Inconsistency in the possible scammer’s behavior. The UK arm of Equifax, the credit bureau, gave an example of a scammer claiming to have a college education but consistently using poor spelling and grammar in their communications.

Watch out for a possible love interest moving too quickly in the love category. Are you in a place in life where you’re more susceptible to flattery or attention? Take a skeptical look toward any sudden adoration. Also be wary of attempts to quickly move the conversation off the initial app or website.

Finally, many advisers recommend the more technical step of performing a reverse image search of photos your possible scammer has sent you. You can upload an image to a search engine like Google or Bing or the website Tineye.com to see if it has cropped up elsewhere online. If you find out it’s a stock photo or a photo of someone else, then immediately leave the situation.

If you feel you are being scammed or have already lost money to an online romance scammer, Setera said you should alert your financial institution immediately and file a complaint at IC3.gov.