BBB.ORG – Feb 14 – In the past 36 months, Better Business Bureau (BBB) received 636 Scam Tracker reports related to romance fraud. In addition, BBB received ~7,500 complaints against online dating services, in which some of the complainants alluded to fraudulent activities. BBB estimates there may be a million romance fraud victims in the U.S. alone. Losses reported in the U.S. and Canada over three years totaled ~$1B. Last year, BBB released a report about online romance scams. The study described the inner workings of how fraudsters target those looking for romance. This follow-up report takes a deeper look into how some victims inadvertently become "money mules." Fraudsters need a method to get funds from victims without being discovered. In many cases, money first passes to "money mules," who then transfer it to the fraudsters, often outside of the country. Money mules often are unsuspecting romance fraud victims themselves who may end up in serious legal troubles. It is estimated that 20-30% of romance victims were used as money mules. Full report here.
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