Guest Editorial: Don’t fall in love with a scammer

Most people envision scammers as strangers hiding in basements and warehouses in some foreign country sending out a flood of emails or phone calls, preying on their targets’ greed.But that’s not always the case.Scams can get much more personal.

According to new Better Business Bureau report, romance or friendship scams climbed to the number three riskiest scam for the first time since the bureau began publishing the report.Investment scams, including those involving cryptocurrency, remained the riskiest scam type in 2024, the bureau reported.Both types of scams involve financial grooming, where the scammer builds a relationship with the victim before perpetrating the scam.



Financial grooming scams are often complex and devastating for victims, according to Melissa Lanning, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, which produced the 2024 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report.It can take weeks or months for the scammers to build trust with their targets, Lanning said. Once that happens, the scammer encourages the person to try investing, often in cryptocurrency.

It always starts small, as trust builds over time. While the investment “grows,” the scammer encourages them to invest even more money. But then the person realizes too late, once they’ve invested a significant amount, that the platform is fake, and they can’t get their money back, Lanning said in a news release.

More than 80 percent of people who were targeted by investment/cryptocurrency scams, the No. 1 riskiest, reported losing money to BBB Scam Tracker. It also had the second highest median dollar loss at $5,000.

Investment scams take many forms, including pressure to purchase, trade, or store digital assets (cryptocurrency) with fraudulent exchanges.Employment scam reports remained the No. 2 scam type in 2024, making up about 14% of all reported scams.

Employment scams had a $1,500 median dollar loss.Romance/friendship scams had the highest median dollar loss of all scam types – $6,099.Online purchase (shopping) scams dropped further down the list this year, landing at No.

4 riskiest. This year, 30.3% of scams submitted to BBB Scam Tracker were online purchase scams, and 87.

5% reported losing money, according to the bureau.“Scammers are spending more time building relationships with their targets, and the result is significant losses,” said Lanning. “If somebody you met online is offering to help you invest your money, it’s a huge red flag, and probably a scam.

”Key findings of the report include: Overall reported median dollar loss rose 30% from 2023 to 2024. Overall reported susceptibility (the percentage of reports with a monetary loss) fell 14.6%.

People ages 65 and older reported the highest median dollar loss of all age groups ($160), followed by ages 18-24 ($150). Employment scams were No. 1 riskiest for ages 18-34.

According to survey research, the flexibility to work from home was the top motivational factor for engaging with the scammer. People reported being more likely to lose money when engaging via social media. According to survey research, almost 50% of scams via social media began when the person responded to a social media advertisement or post.

About 15% began when the scammer sent them a direct message. Credit cards remained the most reported payment method with a monetary loss, followed by bank account debit and online payment system (digital payment app). Reports of people paying scammers with cryptocurrency rose from 3.

0% in 2023 to 4.8% in 2024. According to the bureau’s survey research, 29.

6% said their mental health was impacted by the scam incident. The top emotions people felt following the scam were anger (60.3%), loss of trust (54.

0%), and anxiety/stress/trauma (53.5%). Those who engaged with the scammer for more than one day were more likely to report losing money.

For more highlights from the 2024 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, visit BBBMarketplaceTrust.org/RiskReport.Go to BBB.

org/ScamTracker to report a scam, learn more about other risky scams on BBB.org/ScamTips. Scam victims can get resources and advice at BBB.

org/ScamSurvivalKit.]]>.