Have you chatted with someone online that asked you for money? It's probably a scam and they are most likely a fraudster.
How it Works
Thieves scour online dating apps and sites preying on unsuspecting consumers everyday. Their goal is to quickly build a relationship and profess their love rather fast. They often claim to work or be stationed with the military overseas. Once they gain your trust, they say an emergency has occurred and ask you to send money, buy a plane ticket, or payoff their credit card for them so they can make other purchases. They typically ask you to wire money or pay with reloadable cards or gift cards so they can't be traced or payment reversed.
What to do
These imposters use urgency and fear to pressure you. Some even make you feel bad or claim that you don’t care about them if you do not send them money! Trust your instinct and don’t be afraid or ashamed to reach out to a family member or close friend and get their opinion. These fraudsters are good at what they do and will cloud your usually good sense of judgment.
People lose more money to romance scams than any other scam - seven times more. According to the Federal Trade Commission, people reported losing $143 million to romance scams in 2018 - a median loss of $2,600.
For additional steps to help protect your information, we recommend visiting the Federal Trade Commission: Online Dating Scams and Consumer Reports: Online Dating Scams. For more information, visit myspire.com/fraud.
The information contained in this article is meant for general informational purposes only. You should not rely solely on one piece of information to protect yourself from ID Theft and/or fraud and in no way does SPIRE guarantee that ID Theft and/or fraud will never occur if you follow these recommendations.
SPIRE has made the utmost effort to make sure the information contained in this article is up-to-date and accurate. Under no circumstances shall SPIRE be liable for any loss or damages arising directly or indirectly from the use of the information provided within this article.
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