Beware of Sweetheart Scams Around Valentine's Day: Cops

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Valentine's Day can be a lonely time, but the Colorado Attorney General's office, and local police departments warn not to let your guard down and become a victim of "Sweetheart Scams."

"Not everyone who's on dating sites is looking for love," said Officer Santos of the Colorado Springs Police Department in an online video. "Some of them are looking for money, specifically your money."

Some little known facts about so-called internet "sweetheart scams":

• Financial losses can be significant, in fact losses average more than $10,000 per person, according to the Colorado Attorney General's office.
• Many of those scammed are Baby Boomer age or older, the AG's website says.
• Scammers may represent themselves as beautiful foreign models, wealthy businessmen, or even deployed military servicemembers trying to attract a lover, but most use very ordinary seeming profiles.

"Online romance scammers typically work together in groups of six, usually at cyber cafes, sending out hundreds of emails through the dating websites and chat rooms waiting for responses," the AG's website says."They follow scripts like telemarketers, which explains why their messages sound so similar or even exactly the same. Since they work in shifts they appear to be online at all hours, but may not remember previous conversations with the victim, or they may even call the victim by another name."

Many scammers base their profiles on information found on potential victim's profiles, Santos said.

"If your profile says you're a dog lover, they may create a profile saying they're a dog lover [too], or say they rescue animals... if they say they love animals, but aren't familiar with the verbiage along with caring for animals, that could be a concern," Santos said.

If you’re looking for love online, these warning signs may expose a con-panionship, the AG's website says:

• Scammer Grammar. Scammers often portray themselves as educated American or British businessmen, but English is usually their second language and their messages contain frequent misspellings and poor grammar.
• Zip Code 23401. Sometimes this zip code is given as part of the scammer's home address in Nigeria, to receive wired funds. It's actually the zip code for Keller, Virginia, but scammers provide it believing that American victims expect a Zip code. Coincidentally, or not, 234 is the international telephone dialing code for Nigeria.
• Too Good To Be True. Some scammers appear to be incredibly good looking, usually because the photo on their profile was stolen from an online modeling site. Recently, scammers have been stealing more average looking photos in order to disguise themselves further.
• Mailing Address Requests. Victims are told their lover would like to send gifts or to come visit and therefore need the victim’s mailing address, but the true purpose may be to set up a reshipping scam or some other variety of con.

"In the end, what they are looking for is to take your money, and they may use something that can pull at your heartstrings," Santos said. "They many even ask for money for a plane ticket to come visit you."

Scammers count on their victims being embarrassed and not reporting them.

If you think you’ve been involved with, or are in an online romance scam, please report it at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

Find our more about common "sweetheart scams" at the Colorado Attorney General's Website.

Image via Shutterstock