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in Romance Scam
news.trendmicro.com
· 2025-12-07
This educational piece outlines how to identify and respond to social media scams targeting users. Common scams include fake celebrity accounts, phishing links, romance scams, fraudulent job offers, giveaway schemes, and investment fraud—all designed to steal personal information, credentials, or money through deceptive friend requests and messages. The article recommends verifying profiles for authenticity, reporting suspicious accounts, blocking scammers, and maintaining strong privacy settings to protect against these threats.
wbay.com
· 2025-12-07
The FBI reports that cryptocurrency ATM scams resulted in nearly $250 million in losses in 2024, more than double the previous year, with scammers primarily using romance, impostor, and financial scams to trick victims into depositing money. An 85-year-old woman in Wisconsin was approached by police while being manipulated into depositing tens of thousands of dollars into a Bitcoin ATM after being told her bank account was hacked. Iowa's investigation found that 97% of crypto ATM transactions were scams, with victims losing over $20 million in less than three years, while companies operating these machines profit by taking up to 23% per transaction.
bnnbloomberg.ca
· 2025-12-07
Canada's Ontario Securities Commission has identified seven prevalent investment scams targeting victims in autumn, including romance scams (fraudsters gaining trust online before pitching fake investments), cryptocurrency scams (requesting additional funds before allowing withdrawals), affinity fraud (targeting social groups with Ponzi schemes), pump-and-dump schemes (artificially inflating stock prices before selling), boiler room operations (fake trading platforms), AI voice scams (deepfakes impersonating relatives or celebrities), and exempt securities fraud (misrepresenting fraudulent investments as legitimate exclusive opportunities). The advisory emphasizes that common red flags include unsolicited contact about investment tips, requests for money from online contacts never met in person, an
ctvnews.ca
· 2025-12-07
I apologize, but the article content provided does not include the actual news story—only the title and a list of unrelated shopping/product links. To provide an accurate summary for the Elderus database, I would need the full article text about the Toronto man's romance scam loss of $80,000 and the advocates' calls for fraud protection. Please provide the complete article content.
jcpost.com
· 2025-12-07
A Kansas City area man lost approximately $120,000 in a romance scam that began in March when a woman named "Lisa" contacted him on TikTok and gradually moved their conversation to the encrypted Telegram app. Over time, "Lisa" created various emergencies—car repairs, gas money, and eventually back taxes on her mother's house—to solicit payments via CashApp and Bitcoin, which the victim sent until a family member recognized the scheme. Law enforcement advises never sending money to people met only online and warns that cryptocurrency transfers are nearly impossible to recover.
gazettenet.com
· 2025-12-07
Multiple South Hadley residents lost thousands of dollars to cryptocurrency ATM scams, including one business employee who was tricked into depositing $11,000 and another resident who lost $48,000, with authorities unable to recover the funds due to the irreversible and untraceable nature of cryptocurrency transactions. The scams have surged nationally, with the FBI receiving approximately 11,000 complaints in 2024 involving crypto kiosks, resulting in $247 million in combined losses—a 99% increase in complaints from 2023. South Hadley Police Chief Jennifer Gundersen is proposing a town ordinance banning cryptocurrency ATMs, similar to measures in W
aol.com
· 2025-12-07
Internet scams have evolved from crude 1990s email cons like Nigerian prince schemes to sophisticated AI-powered deepfakes that can convincingly impersonate voices and faces, with phishing attacks emerging in the early 2000s as online banking adoption grew. Despite technological advances making fraud more convincing and difficult to detect, successful scams continue to rely on exploiting fundamental human emotions—greed, fear, compassion, and loneliness—through predictable psychological manipulation patterns that create urgency and isolate victims from support systems. Understanding how scam tactics have evolved reveals that technological complexity often masks simple psychological manipulation, and recognizing consistent underlying patterns can help potential victims identify manipulation attempts regardless of delivery method.
reddit.com
· 2025-12-07
Hugo Sanchez, a Toronto man in his 40s, lost $80,000 to a romance scam after meeting a woman named "Lina" on social media following his separation. The scammer convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency, falsely promising he would triple his money. Advocates from the Canadian Association of Retired Persons are calling for stricter criminal penalties and mandatory fraud prevention measures at banks and telecoms, noting that romance scams have cost 778 Canadians over $54.6 million so far this year.
townhall.com
· 2025-12-07
Tochuwku Albert Nnebocha, a 43-year-old Nigerian national extradited from Poland, faces federal charges for operating a transnational inheritance scam that defrauded American seniors over five years. The scheme involved sending personalized letters claiming victims were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased Spanish relatives, then requesting upfront fees for delivery and taxes; victims sent money through a network of U.S.-based accomplices but never received the promised funds. Nnebocha faces up to 20 years in prison, and two co-defendants have already been sentenced to approximately 8 years each.
townhall.com
· 2025-12-07
Tochuwku Albert Nnebocha, 43, a Nigerian national extradited from Poland, faces federal charges for operating a transnational romance/inheritance scam that defrauded American seniors over five years by falsely claiming they had won multimillion-dollar inheritances from Spain and requesting upfront fees. Victims were instructed to send money through a network of U.S.-based former victims who forwarded funds to the defendants, with none of the promised inheritances ever materialized. Nnebocha faces up to 20 years in prison; two co-conspirators have already been sentenced to 97 months each for their roles in the scheme.
states.aarp.org
· 2025-12-07
On October 16, 2025, AARP Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Elder Justice Coalition hosted a Scam Jam educational event at UW-Green Bay to inform attendees about current fraud schemes and connect them with anti-fraud professionals. The event featured a resource fair with multiple Wisconsin organizations dedicated to combating elder fraud, including AARP's Fraud Watch Network, the Better Business Bureau, state consumer protection agencies, and victim support services, all providing free educational materials, complaint filing assistance, and community presentations.
cnhi.com
· 2025-12-07
Older adults aged 60-plus lost $3.4 billion globally to financial scammers in 2023, with fraudsters targeting this population because they believe older adults have substantial savings and are less likely to report crimes. The article describes five common scams targeting seniors: grandparent scams (emotional manipulation using impersonation), financial services scams (impersonating banks or debt collectors), tech support scams (the most frequently reported type), government impersonation scams (IRS/Social Security threats), and romance scams, all of which exploit trust, fear, or emotion to extract money or personal information.
technology.org
· 2025-12-07
University of Missouri researchers studying online dating scams found that perpetrators have evolved their tactics, moving away from obvious "too-good-to-be-true" profiles toward "strategic imperfection"—including fake flaws like divorce or ordinary jobs—to appear more credible. The study of thousands of victim reports revealed scammers commonly pose as educated professionals (doctors, engineers, military personnel) around age 50 and use emotional crisis scenarios (health emergencies, work problems, financial hardship) to manipulate victims, with work-related crises proving most effective and even skeptical people susceptible when emotionally engaged. Researchers propose that AI-powered tools trained on linguistic patterns and narrative analysis could provide
newtimes.co.rw
· 2025-12-07
Money mule schemes accounted for 29 percent of Rwanda's reported fraud losses between August and December 2024, with scammers targeting vulnerable job seekers through fake employment offers on social media that promise easy remote work involving payment transfers. Victims unknowingly become part of money-laundering chains, exposing their bank accounts to closure and themselves to legal consequences, though banks use advanced monitoring tools to detect suspicious activity such as sudden large transfers. Protection requires individuals to verify job offers, avoid sharing bank details with strangers, and report suspected scams to law enforcement or the Financial Intelligence Centre.
mk.co.kr
· 2025-12-07
Employment fraud luring Cambodian victims has surged dramatically in Cambodia, with reports increasing from 4 in 2021 to 330 by August 2024, primarily targeting South Korean nationals through false job advertisements on Telegram and job sites promising high income. Victims are coerced into illegal online scams including voice phishing and romance fraud, with criminal gangs also targeting Korean nationals at restaurants to steal bankbooks and passports for money laundering. The Korean Embassy has limited ability to assist victims directly and recommends contacting local police via Telegram hotline 117, though rescued victims face detention and deportation after months of investigation for their involvement in financial crimes.
m.economictimes.com
· 2025-12-07
A Mumbai man met a woman on the dating app Aisle and was lured to a bar near Upvan Lake in Thane, where she ordered expensive premium drinks totaling Rs 24,000, pressuring him to pay Rs 10,000 before disappearing and cutting contact. Social media users confirmed this is a common dating app scam targeting men at Thane bars, and experts recommend meeting in well-populated public places, informing friends of your location, and being cautious of requests for expensive purchases.
hindustantimes.com
· 2025-12-07
A Mumbai man lost approximately ₹10,000 in a dating app scam after meeting a woman on Aisle who lured him to a bar in Thane, where she ordered expensive premium whisky without his knowledge before disappearing without paying. The victim was pressured into paying ₹24,000 (₹26,000 including service charges) at Paablo Baar and Lounch, with the woman abandoning him after the transaction and cutting off contact. Social media users confirmed this is a well-known recurring scam targeting dating app users in Thane bars over the past several years.
news.abplive.com
· 2025-12-07
A Mumbai man was scammed through a dating app when he met a woman at a bar in Thane who ordered expensive drinks without his approval, resulting in a Rs 24,000 bill; he paid Rs 10,000 to avoid confrontation with intimidating staff. Reddit users confirmed this is an organized scam where the woman and bar owner collaborate to lure dating app users into inflated drink charges. The incident highlights a growing trend of dating app bar scams targeting people in Mumbai, with multiple users reporting similar experiences with the same tactics.
deccanherald.com
· 2025-12-07
A man in Thane, Maharashtra lost Rs 10,000 in a dating app bar scam after meeting a woman through the Aisle app who lured him to Paablo Bar and Lounge, where she ordered expensive whiskey without specifying quantities and the establishment presented an inflated bill of Rs 26,000 with excessive service charges. The woman fled after the incident, confirming the date was a setup designed to coerce payment through intimidation and overcharging. Such scams have become increasingly common in metropolitan areas, targeting dating app users at unfamiliar venues.
ghanaiantimes.com.gh
· 2025-12-07
Ghana's Immigration Service repatriated 32 West African nationals (24 Nigerians and 8 Togolese, aged 18-35) who were arrested during coordinated operations in the Volta Region and suspected of operating romance scams and other cyber fraud. The individuals were treated as human trafficking victims after investigations revealed they had been lured through false job offers on social media and coerced into cybercrime by kingpins who smuggled them into Ghana through unapproved routes. Authorities recovered 33 mobile phones and other equipment, and ongoing investigations aim to identify the masterminds while the GIS warns the public to report suspicious activities and landlords to conduct proper
mk.co.kr
· 2025-12-07
A Busan District Court sentenced three Korean men to two years and four months in prison for operating a romance scam call center in Cambodia that defrauded 13 victims of over 580 million won ($450,000+ USD) through 119 fraudulent transactions between July 3-24, 2023. The criminal organization, run by a Chinese leader with offices in Cambodia and Laos, forced employees to work 12-hour shifts under intense surveillance with armed guards, held "hostages" (employees' friends) to prevent workers from leaving, and charged $10,000 fines to those who tried to withdraw from the operation. The romance scam scheme used fake female photos
mk.co.kr
· 2025-12-07
Online job postings in South Korea continue to recruit people for high-paying "telemarketing" positions in Cambodia, despite documented cases of Koreans being kidnapped, imprisoned, and tortured after accepting such jobs. The postings, offering salaries of 15-30 million won monthly, use reassurances about worker safety to counter awareness of these crimes, while related recruitment on platforms like Telegram and Carrot Market explicitly seek people to create fake bank accounts and transport fraudulent documents—indicating involvement in voice phishing and romance scams. South Korean police announced plans to block these suspicious job advertisements through cyber investigation.
mhnse.com
· 2025-12-07
A Busan court convicted three Korean nationals of operating an organized romance scam call center in Cambodia that defrauded 13 victims of approximately 580 million won (USD 437,000) through fake female profiles on social media between July 3-24. The defendants worked for a Chinese-led criminal syndicate running heavily armed call centers in Cambodia and Laos, where employees endured 12-hour shifts under strict surveillance, phone bans, and threats including hostage-taking and USD 10,000 penalties to prevent escapes. The court imposed prison sentences of 2 years 4 months to 3 years 2 months, noting the severe
maltatoday.com.mt
· 2025-12-07
A 70-year-old Maltese woman named Maria lost €568,000 in a romance scam after meeting a man on Facebook who claimed to be a surgeon in Gaza; over six months, she made 39 bank transfers to various accounts and even mailed €8,000 cash in a teddy bear to Germany before customs intercepted it. Her case exemplifies a surge in online fraud affecting Malta, with Bank of Valletta alone reporting €5.3 million in losses to clients by September 2024 (double the 2024 total), while an additional €2.2 million was prevented from being fraudulently transferred. Experts note that reported figures likely represent
fallriverreporter.com
· 2025-12-07
Charles Uchenna Nwadivid, a 35-year-old Nigerian national, was sentenced to two years in prison for orchestrating romance scams that defrauded at least six victims of over $2 million between 2016 and 2019. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering after being arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in April 2025, and was ordered to pay $2,724,810.41 in restitution. Nwadivid created fake online dating profiles to build trust with victims, then convinced them to send money or transfer funds to cryptocurrency accounts under his
irishtimes.com
· 2025-12-07
A woman in her 60s was victimized in a romance scam after joining a dating site in late 2023 and meeting a man claiming to be named Donald, who quickly professed feelings and moved their conversation to WhatsApp. The scammer, posing as a telecommunications executive working in Germany with a fabricated professional website, convinced her to make bank transfers on his behalf under the pretense of equipment payment issues, resulting in significant financial losses and debts. Despite her family's warnings and her own growing doubts, she continued the relationship until eventually recognizing the deception, but not before suffering major financial and legal consequences.
switzer.com.au
· 2025-12-07
In 2024, Australians lost over A$2.03 billion to scams across 494,732 reported cases, with most enabled by technology through online or phone contact. Scammers exploit universal psychological principles—including need, greed, authority, distraction, and social proof—that are similar to legitimate persuasion techniques used in advertising and marketing, making everyone vulnerable regardless of expertise or background. Understanding these manipulation tactics can help people recognize and resist scams by questioning whether they're being rushed, whether claims seem too good to be true, and whether the request matches legitimate practices.
wglt.org
· 2025-12-07
The Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois reports a 70% increase in scam reports year-to-date (roughly 100,000 compared to 58,000 last year), with seniors age 65 and older being the hardest hit, experiencing median losses of over $6,000 from romance/friendship scams and sometimes losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. To address this rise, BBB leader Jessica Tharp is launching the Senior Scam Stop 2025 education series to combat the stigma around victimization and empower seniors with knowledge about common scams (including romance plots, grandparent scams, and Medicare fraud) and protective strategies.
express.co.uk
· 2025-12-07
A US-UK joint operation seized 19 London properties worth over £100 million that were purchased by Southeast Asian crime networks using proceeds from industrial-scale scam centres based in Cambodia and Myanmar. The criminals, led by Chen Zhi, operated romance scams and fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes that victimized vulnerable people into handing over large sums, while also exploiting trafficked workers forced to conduct online fraud under threat of torture. The sanctions freeze the network's assets and businesses, blocking their access to the UK financial system.
independent.co.uk
· 2025-12-07
UK and US authorities dismantled romance scam networks operating in Southeast Asia, seizing $15 billion in bitcoin—the largest in US Department of Justice history—and freezing luxury London properties linked to the operations. These scam centres lured victims into fake online relationships to steal their savings, often employing trafficked foreign nationals forced to commit fraud under threat of torture. The crackdown included sanctions against individuals like Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi, aimed at combating transnational fraud, protecting British nationals, and preventing illicit funds from entering the UK.
independent.co.uk
· 2025-12-07
UK and US authorities seized a record $15 billion in bitcoin and 19 luxury London properties in a joint crackdown on a criminal network operating romance scam centres across south-east Asia. The network, led by Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi and his Prince Holding Group, lured victims into fake romantic relationships and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes, often employing trafficked foreign nationals forced to commit fraud under threat of torture. Romance scams cost the UK at least £92 million in 2023-2024, with over 8,000 reported cases that year.
bankingjournal.aba.com
· 2025-12-07
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network finalized a rule barring Cambodian firm Huione Group from the U.S. financial system due to its role as a money laundering conduit for romance scams and other cybercrimes. Simultaneously, the Treasury Department sanctioned 146 targets within the Cambodia-based Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization for operating online investment scams targeting Americans and people worldwide.
bbc.com
· 2025-12-07
Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi was charged in the US for allegedly orchestrating a massive cryptocurrency scam through his Prince Group, which operated at least ten fraudulent compounds in Cambodia that used forced labor to conduct online romance and investment fraud schemes targeting thousands of victims worldwide. The US and UK seized approximately $14 billion in bitcoin and froze assets including 19 London properties valued at over £100 million, with prosecutors describing the operation as one of the largest financial takedowns in history involving human trafficking, forced labor camps, and the use of phone farms controlling thousands of fake social media accounts to deceive victims into transferring cryptocurrency.