How to avoid falling for romance scams and avoid becoming money mule
Valentine’s Day can bring out the scams as people are often looking for a love connection on dating websites and social media. But these sites could have scammers who only want your money.
In a new report by the Better Business Bureau, online romance scams can sometimes turn victims into unknowing accomplices to fraud, known as money mules.
Money mules are like financial middlemen. They might launder money from other victims without knowing it.
The Better Business Bureau said oftentimes the victims are accomplices because they build a relationship with the scammers.
Twenty to 30 percent of romance scam victims were used as money mules in 2018 alone.
“It continues to escalate a lot of times they just test people to see how much they’ll actually do and then continue to move forward,” said Jeremy Johnson, the Eastern Idaho marketplace manager for the Better Business Bureau. “It comes to some point where, ‘Hey, I just need this favor, I could really just use your help, or I’m overseas,’ things like that.”
The Better Business Bureau said some tips to avoid romance scams are take a step back and analyze what’s going and don’t rush into an online relationship. They also said to recognize red flags, like if they ask you to open a bank account or ask to keep the relationship a secret.
