(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An Internet scam that combines romance websites and cryptocurrency is on the rise.
Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office explains it:
Scammers, he said, are looking for victims on dating sites and pretend to develop a relationship with them to build their trust.
Then the scammers convince their victims to invest money on legitimate cryptocurrency sites, before telling them they can make even more by switching their money to a site that is actually run by the scammer.
He says the scams can be very costly. He cited a case in which one victim lost more than $3 million and another case where the victim lost more than $100,000.
“We’re talking very substantial amounts of money,” he said.
Covelli said it's very difficult for police to find the lost money or the scammers.
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