At the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a Florida woman had been convicted for her part in swindling victims in an online romance scheme. When she pled guilty, she admitted to laundering more than $2.7 million to her co-conspirators abroad.
Although this crime ring was busted, the DOJ reports there are many others, and such scams are increasing each year. Gone are the days of getting a misspelled email from a dethroned “Nigerian prince” asking for money. Social scientists have found that scammers are using sophisticated social engineering techniques that are adaptable, realistic, and often irresistible.
How Frequent are Frauds?
Emails from the Nigerian prince who needed money to reclaim his wealth and power almost seem quaint compared to today’s scammers. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that consumers lost almost $8.8 billion to scams. The amount was a 30 percent increase from 2021, meaning that people were becoming more susceptible to scams.
The rip-offs included romance cons in which a fraudster pretended to be someone who was romantically interested in the victim and then began asking for money. The swindles also involved fake investments, phony sweepstakes, and tech support scams in which a person was contacted and told there was something wrong with their computer, which could be corrected for a fee.
