The Federal Bureau of Investigations is warning Americans to be on the lookout this Valentine’s Day as romance scammers attempt to take advantage of the vulnerable.
Brett King, a special agent with the FBI, shared with CBS 42 that romance scams are big this time of year, and the elderly are the most vulnerable.
“What we picture is one lone person doing this whole work,” King said. “No, it’s a whole assembly line of people following a script, and they have really turned it into a science.”
Gone are the days of old scam tactics, as artificial intelligence has changed the game when it comes to taking advantage of people.
“The way they speak and how they write words now, AI can write a letter from somebody next door,” King said.
Romance scams are a major issue in the United States, with around $1.3 billion in losses reported in 2022 by the Federal Trade Commission. Around 70,000 people reported falling victim to a romance scam.
The cyber security company Arkose Labs recently shared in a report that from January 2023 to January 2024, dating apps saw a 2087% increase in bot attacks taking advantage of users.
Scammers have been able to use AI bots and other tools to trick victims into sending them money, and King says this issue is only worsened around Valentine’s Day.
“The stories go from ‘I’m sick, or I have a shipment of gold that I’m trying to get across, and I’m trying to give you the ambassador of whatever email address,’ and you got to pay a shipment fee to get your money back,” King said. “These are signs where you probably not what you think it is.”
Kevin Gosschalk, the founder and CEO of Arkose Labs, shared with CBS News that using AI as a tool for scamming has created an “arms race.”
“The attackers are motivated by huge amounts of money, and it’s just so lucrative,” Gosschalk said.
Research shared by Barclays showed that those aged 51 to 60 were the most likely to fall for romance scams.
With the holiday around the corner, King says that something doesn’t seem right, it most likely isn’t. If you’re concerned about being a victim, he says to ask a second opinion from a friend or family member, as it’s better to be safe than sorry.