Who Is The Victim?
The Identify Theft
To make investment/romance scams more enticing to victims, scammers create accounts with stolen photos to lure their targets. Unfortunately, individuals whose pictures are misused may encounter instances of stalking by those who became victim to emotional and financial exploitation by the scammers. Moreover, identity theft victims may face challenges to their reputation as the scams are associated with one or a multitude of their images. Social media platforms that permit the ongoing use of these stolen photos provide little to no support in such scenarios.
The Scammed
Individuals become victims of Investment/Romance Scams through online messages and or purposeful “wrong number” text messages, leading to romantic involvement and cryptocurrency investment promises. Scammers build trust, convince victims to invest, then disappear with the funds, causing financial loss and emotional distress.
The Trafficked
Those who target scam victims and deceive them into giving up their life savings are also victims in their own way. It all starts with an innocent person responding to a job ad. Many individuals are seeking a better future for themselves and their loved ones, so the enticing promises made during the job interview seem too good to pass up. Regrettably, unbeknownst to the new employee, they are stepping into a world of crime, deceit, and exploitation. Their new role involves engaging in various online criminal activities, one of which includes Pig Butchering, often at a compound located in high-rise casinos.
What is a Romance Scam?
A Romance Scam is a purposeful act of an online criminal with fake romantic intentions towards their prey with a goal of financial gain, oftentimes by creating a fake online identity to lure their target.
Red Flags: Tip to Identify a Romance Scam
They Reach Out First
A victim is approached on a platform first by:
- A friend request,
- Message request
- Request from the scammer to add them as a friend.
Moving the Conversation
The scammer will often times try and move the conversation to an encrypted site such as Hangouts or WhatsApp. An encrypted message site makes it difficult for law enforcement to retrieve conversations once deleted, making it more difficult to prove the scam.
Asking for Money/Gift Card
Scammers are in it for the money! Nothing else! If anyone you never met in person asks you for money, or to send gift cards, this is a scam! NEVER send money or gift cards to ANYONE online!
Asks You to Open a Bank Account/Bitcoin Account
Scammers may request the victim to open a bank account for them, or ask for their personal information to open a bank or Bitcoin account. But why?
- Collect personal information to open not one, but many accounts
- Additional information to blackmail the victim
- To have the victim “move” money ie. Money Laundering (a Federal Offense)
Terms of Endearment
Terms of endearment early on in a conversation is very common with scammers. “Hello Dear”, “My Queen”, “Hi beautiful”, are just a few of their terms. They will also profess their love to you very early on in the relationship, often times within days.
Working From a Remote Location
By claiming to work outside of the country (ex. in the Military, on an Oil Rig, Physician on a humanitarian mission) their victim is in, gives ample excuses to:
- Never be able to meet in person
- Have poor phone/video connection
- Conveniently difficult to prove why money is needed (hospital bills, attorney fees, bail money)
Poor Grammar
A scammers first language is often times not the same as their victims’, making their incorrect grammar noticeable to the victim. Scammers tend to also say phrases that are not known in the Country they claim to be from. For example they often start their introduction as “Am John” or “Am John by name” instead of ” My name is John”.
No Family/Has a Child
A spouse being killed in an accident, or by Cancer are common parts of a scammers story. There will often times be a “child” involved. Scammers use a child as an excuse to need money for an illness resulting in medical expenses, boarding school, nanny fees etc.
Sending You a Package
Scammers will claim to send the victim a package filled with personal expensive belongings, gems, gold, and or money. There is NEVER a package and there are a few reasons they do this:
- To gather your personal information (name, address) for possible blackmailing purposes
- Get the victim to pay a “deliver fee” to a fraudulent shipping service (money actually goes to the scammer).
- Excuse to have the victim pay for the “package” to “get out of customs”. There is no package, which means no customs and the money goes to the scammer.
Tips to Help You Stay Safe Online
Educate Yourself On Platforms Safety
Before agreeing to participate on a platform, make sure you read everything! All stipulations, platforms privacy standards, and how to keep yourself safe on their platform.
Stay Private
It’s great to keep your friends and family in “the know”, but strangers do not need to be in your business. Set your privacy setting on all platforms to “private”.
Never Stop Learning About Scams
Scammers always try to stay ahead of the game with new stories, and gimmicks. Keep yourself up to date on the different scams! FTC.GOV is a great site to refer to on all scams.
Decline Those You Do Not Know
Scammers will typically approach you first via messaging or friend request. If you or your friends do not know this person personally, then the safest bet is to decline any request from the stranger. Remember “STRANGER DANGER”.
Do Not Give Out Personal Information
Scammers are known to make up crazy stories to get any information from you (needing to fill out a leave application, fiance’ forms, and or Next of Kin documents (all fake), wanting you to open a bank account, wanting to send you a package etc. Many of these forms ask for your name, address, Social Security Number, phone number, mothers maiden name.
DO NOT GIVE ANY INFORMATION!
Keep Your Pictures To Yourself
There are times when people think they found the love of their life, and feel it’s okay to send private/promiscuous photos to the one they love. Never EVER do this. Scammers will use these photos to blackmail you, and possibly use to scam others. What passes through the internet, stays on the internet, don’t take that chance.
What is Pig Butchering?
The “Pig Butchering Scam” refers to a deceptive scheme where scammers gain a victim’s trust through a romantic relationship, leading them to invest money in fake cryptocurrency transactions. Originating in Southeast Asia during the Covid pandemic, these scams exploit people’s isolation and are orchestrated by traffickers who face severe consequences if quotas are not met. Recently, the scam has garnered attention from the media, legislators, and the United Nations due to increasing financial losses globally.
Learn More About Investment & Romance Scams Involving Cryptocurrency
Identity Theft Victims
Innocent people’s photos have been stolen and used by scammers on every social media platform as a way to lure victims for financial gain. Copied photos and fake identification bring a fake story to life, often, with a devastating end for many.
Please Read Before Viewing Photos
The photos below were provided by survivors of online romance scams. The people in these images are victims of identity theft, whose photos were stolen and used to deceive others. These individuals also suffer from financial, emotional, and psychological harm, so we will not disclose their real names or personal information. Most of the victims are aware their images are being misused. Unfortunately, social media companies offer little support in removing these fake accounts, even after reports of impersonation or copyright violations (see AARS reports). As a result, stolen photos continue to circulate.
If you recognize a photo belonging to you or a loved one’s scammer, please report it to the FBI Cybercrime Unit at IC3.gov or your local law enforcement’s cybercrime department. We ask that you respect the privacy of the individuals in these photos, as they are also victims. Each image is marked to prevent further misuse by scammers.
*Disclaimer: If you are the person in a photo on this site and wish to have it removed for privacy reasons, please get in touch with AARS.
