IT security provider ESET warns against love scamming

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It has long since ceased to be a day just for lovers, and cybercriminals have also discovered it for themselves. IT security provider ESET is warning of the increasing danger of so-called ‘love scams’.

In these scams, attackers exploit the longing for love and partnership to emotionally manipulate unsuspecting victims and get their money. What’s particularly insidious about these scams is that they don’t stop at one payment. The scammers keep asking for more and more money until their victims are bankrupt or at least become suspicious.

Many people feel lonely, especially on Valentine’s Day (https://www.idealo. de/magazin/e-commerce/valentinstag#:~:text=Liebe%20hin%20oder%20her%20%E2%80%93%2040,Valentinstag%20besonders%20einsam%20zu%20f%C3%BChlen.) and are susceptible to such fraud attempts.

‘Love scammers are masters of psychology. They put pressure on their victims, urge them to make quick decisions and create feelings of guilt when their demands are questioned,’ explains Ildiko Bruhns, IT security expert at ESET. ’Many victims feel ashamed when they realise they have been scammed – but remaining silent only helps the perpetrators.’

What is love (scamming)?

In love scamming – also known as romance scamming – cybercriminals use social media, dating platforms or messenger services to make contact with potential victims. They pretend to be trustworthy and lovable people, building up a supposedly romantic relationship over weeks or months, feigning genuine feelings. Once they have gained their victims‘ trust, they use various pretexts to ask for financial support, for example for alleged emergencies or medical treatment. Travel expenses for personal meetings with their victims are also high on the list of pretexts.

In particular, the widespread use of AI makes the criminals’ work easier. With just a few clicks, convincing images, videos and even audio recordings can be created. Even IT professionals have difficulty exposing such forgeries.

A lucrative business

The damage caused by love scamming is high. While many victims lose hundreds to thousands of euros in most cases, others pay up to a hundred thousand euros to the cybercriminals. In 2024, there were 40 to 50 cases in Baden-Württemberg alone (https://www.swr. de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/stuttgart/love-scamming-lka-heiratsschwindler-betrug-schaden-verdoppelt-100.html), in which victims each paid over 100,000 euros to the supposed lovers. In total, the damage in the federal state amounted to over 20 million euros in the last five years.

Women are more frequently affected than men

Lonely people are especially susceptible to such fraudsters, including older women and widowed or divorced people. However, younger, tech-savvy people are increasingly being targeted by fraudsters as well. Cybercriminals specifically seek out people who are in an emotionally vulnerable phase of their lives. They use clever manipulation tactics to create a strong emotional dependency.

A high number of unreported cases makes it difficult to grasp the true extent of the problem. Many victims do not report the fraud because they are ashamed or fear that personal messages and pictures could be made public. As a result, numerous cases remain undetected and perpetrators operate unhindered.

How to protect yourself from ‘love scamming’

The expert recommends the following precautions:

remain critical: be suspicious of online acquaintances who quickly express intense feelings or ask for personal information early on.

verify identities: use search engines or special tools to verify profile pictures and information. Fraudsters often use stolen photos or false identities. When using AI images, zoom in closely and look for the smallest details, such as light conditions, unnatural proportions, strange details in the background, etc. (https://www.dw.com/de/faktencheck-wie-erkenne-ich-ki-generierte-bilder/a-65252413).

Never make any money transfers: Never send money, regardless of the reason given by the other party, to someone you meet online.

Protect your personal data: Do not share sensitive information such as bank account details, passwords or copies of identification documents.

If you have any suspicions, break off contact immediately and report the profile to the relevant platform.

For more information and safety tips, visit ESET’s Welivesecurity.com blog: http://www.welivesecurity.com/deutsch/2021/08/19/gefaehrliche-liebschaften-love-scammer-brechen-nicht-nur-herzen