Based on recent news articles, it looks like there is a new angle appearing in the dating app con game, with dating apps filling a dark purpose beyond finding a new partner.
It's called cryptocurrency scamming.
There have been reports of people meeting on dating apps, where scammers will convince unsuspecting users to give them money to get rich quickly. They'll fake months-long romantic relationships and use the allure of cryptocurrency to get people to hand over large sums of their savings.
In one instance, one woman sent her entire life savings of $390,000 to a scam artist and was left with nothing.
Last year, 56,000 Americans reported love-bait ploys to the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), totaling $547 million in losses. That's almost twice as many as the year before.
Cryptocurrency is a hot topic these days. When combined with people being lonely from the pandemic, it makes sense that this type of scam is on the rise.
According to the February FTC report on romance scams, $139 million of last year's scams were paid in cryptocurrency. The report found...
In 2021, the median individual reported loss using cryptocurrency was a staggering $9,770. While cryptocurrency losses were the [costliest], it was not the most common payment method for romance scams. In 2021, more people reported paying romance scammers with gift cards than with any other payment method.
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