CONSUMER ALERT: New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection Alerts New Yorkers About Romance Scams

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) is warning New Yorkers about romance and sextortion scams and is providing information and instruments to assist establish and outsmart scammers who prey on folks’s feelings and belief. Romance scams happen when a felony lies about their id and makes use of romantic curiosity to control or steal from the sufferer. Thieves use totally different variations of these scams to deceive unsuspecting daters. One widespread variation used is sextortion, the place scammers encourage victims to ship intimate photographs of themselves then demand cash to maintain it a secret and threaten to reveal the sufferer to their contacts, household, pals and colleagues if cost isn’t despatched.

“In this digital age when many seek romantic connections online, it’s important to know who’s really on the other end,” stated Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez, who oversees the Division of Consumer Protection. “Romance scams can hurt financially and emotionally, and this Valentine’s Day, I encourage New Yorkers who are looking for love online to follow basic safety tips to protect themselves and their hard-earned money from scammers.”

Although virtually any age group may be lured into romance scams, the next teams are most continuously focused:

• Teens (particularly teen boys)
• College Students
• Men and Women over age 40
• Seniors, particularly widows, widowers and up to date divorcees

Common Elements of a Romance or Sextortion Scam:

• Fake Profile Pictures: Scammers create the phantasm of somebody you’ll be interested in and belief. They search alternatives to satisfy somebody on-line and create profiles on a variety of on-line platforms together with social media, relationship websites, messaging apps and porn websites. They usually use photos from the web for his or her profile and should disguise their voice on the cellphone.
• Build Trust: Scammers are affected person and can talk for weeks or months till they’ve earned your belief.
• Unavailable to satisfy in individual: Scammers might suggest an in-person assembly, claiming they’ll journey to see you, however there will probably be a last-minute emergency stopping it from occurring. Be suspicious of anybody who says they wish to meet however then all the time makes excuses for why they will’t.
• Request Money: Scammers usually begin by requesting small quantities of cash and paying it again shortly to construct belief. Eventually, the scammers will request a big sum of cash, often as a mortgage, to be wired to them for issues starting from enterprise investments, property, money owed, sickness and extra. They might even ask for cash for airfare to allow them to go to you. Once they obtain the cash, the scammer will usually ask for extra or create a brand new cause they should borrow cash. This will proceed till the sufferer turns into suspicious, at which level the scammer will often cease all contact and disappear.
• Request Explicit Images or Videos: Some on-line encounters finish in undesirable behaviors together with extortion. Scammers might request or coerce victims into sending intimate, specific photographs or movies of themselves. They might even coerce victims to carry out intimate acts on digital camera.

Tips to Avoid Romance or Sextortion Scams:

• If somebody you haven’t met in individual asks you for cash, assume it’s a rip-off, even when they are saying they want it for an emergency or traumatic life occasion. Never give or mortgage cash to somebody that you haven’t met in individual.  
• Do not give out private information to somebody on-line, together with cost and banking information, particularly you probably have not met them earlier than.
• Use trusted on-line relationship websites, however nonetheless train warning. Beware of on-line interactions that shortly ask you to depart a relationship service or social media website to speak instantly.
• Be cautious of folks you meet on-line who say they’re an American overseas or a deployed soldier.
• Schedule a video-chat early within the relationship to make sure they’re the individual they’re presenting of their profile.
• Research anybody in whom you are interested. Ask questions. Look them up on-line. Verify particulars the place you’ll be able to.
• Do a reverse picture search of the individual’s profile image. If it’s linked to a different identify or particulars that don’t line up, it’s probably a rip-off.
• Familiarize your self with privateness settings of all of your on-line platforms and contemplate limiting who has entry to your private information, contact lists and placement.
• Turn off or cowl your internet cameras once you’re not utilizing them.
• To thwart sextortion scams, discuss to your youngsters and youths about on-line security and on-line luring. Many sextortion incidents happen on Instagram or Snapchat. Remind them that photos or movies may be saved by others and used later for blackmailing. Check out further sources for speaking to youngsters and youths on the FBI web site.

New Yorkers who’ve fallen sufferer to a romance or sextortion rip-off ought to report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.  Notify the social networking website or app the place you met the scammer, too.

The New York State Division of Consumer Protection serves to teach, help and empower the State’s shoppers. For extra shopper safety information, name the DCP Helpline at 800-697-1220, Monday via Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm or go to the DCP web site at www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection. The Division may also be reached by way of Twitter at @NYSConsumer or Facebook at www.fb.com/nysconsumer.