‘Romance scams’ responsible for losses exceeding $1.1 billion dollars

JACKSON, Tenn. — We spoke to Toby Braun, the managing partner of the American Special Investigative Group, to learn more about romance scams, how they work, and most importantly how to avoid falling victim.

“We’re seeing a highly concerning uptick in these romance scams,” said Braun.

In 2023 alone there were more than 64-thousand reported cases of people being romance scammed, resulting in losses exceeding 1.1 billion dollars.

But what is a romance scam?

“It’s usually an individual meets someone online and then that individual in return, they’re either using generative AI to conceal their real identity and then pretending to be someone they’re not by using fake images voices or what not or it may actually be the other person at the keyboard and they’re coming up with some kind of excuses, reasons, to not show their faces,” said Braun.

A romantic relationship will develop between the scammer and the victim.

This could even include artificially generated images, or even videos of the person they are pretending to be.

Braun says after the scammer feels they’ve established trust, they will then attempt to get your money.

“There’s usually not a demand for money, it’s usually, ‘Hey, there’s a really good opportunity to make some money and I love you and I want to create a better life for us’ then the person gets prompted into investing into this fraudulent scheme,” said Braun.

So how do you avoid falling victim?

Braun advises individuals to meet in person in a public place with them, or attempt to look them up on social media.

“Keep in mind that unless you meet this person, personally then there’s never really a 100% guarantee they are who they say they are,” said Braun.

Braun recommends if you have been scammed, report it to your bank’s fraud department as well as the Federal Trade Commission.

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