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FTC releases data on romance scam complaint trends

  • Report losses finally level off: 2019 $493M; 2020 730M; 20211.38B; 2022 $1.38B
  • Extortion by asking for explicit photos and demanging money up eightfold since 2019; those 18-29 six times more likely to be victim of this tactic
  • 58% of victims met scammer on social media
  • Largest total losses though crypto; but more victims paid by gift cards, followed by bank wire transfers

DOJ announces it is sending $115 million in refund checks to 40,000 victims who used MoneyGram to send money to fraudsters

Thought of the week — Emotional damage by Fraud A couple of days ago a friend reminded me again of the real harm scammers inflict.  It is easy to focus on the money lost, trends, and what is new.  But the reality is that too much of the time people suffer trust in themselves, depression, and especially with romance frauds, suicide is not at all uncommon. 

Full report here