Alert: Romance Scams

Many people use the Internet, when looking for friendship, romance, and even marriage not thinking that they may wind up a victim of a “romance scam.” Criminals are targeting individuals over the age of 40 who may be emotionally vulnerable, due to a recent divorce or death of a spouse, though all age groups are at risk, including the elderly.When it comes to online dating be aware that the online contact could be a criminal sitting in a cyber café with a well-rehearsed script that's being used on thousands of other innocent victims. They will make false promises of love and a fairy tale life together. Some will say they suffered injuries, while serving overseas in the military or some other hardship to keep their victims concerned and involved in their schemes. Eventually, the scammer will ask the victims to send money to help for some alleged financial situation they have been experiencing. These are lies intended to take money from unsuspecting victims.Scammers may also ask victims to “receive funds” in the form of a cashier's check, money order, or wire transfer, claiming they are out of the country and unable to cash the instruments or receive the funds directly. The scammers will ask their victims to “redirect” the funds to them via a money order or by opening a bank account and providing the bank account number. They may also ask victims to “re-ship” packages instead of redirecting funds. This is where the victims are instructed to pick up merchandise at a store or shipping outlet then forward it to an address, which is usually out of the country. Most likely the merchandise has been purchased online by the scammer with a stolen or fraudulent credit card. Many of these scams are coming out of Nigeria , Ghana , England, Russia and Canada. Remember, online scammers will use whatever personal information you provide to paint themselves as your perfect match. Use caution and common sense whenever you go online. For more information on romance scams go to www.LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com