What is Crypto Romance Scam, and how does it Work?

• Romance scams involve two people who are sexually attracted to each other. However, one will try to scam each other using their love interest as bait. 
• Crypto romance scams can happen anywhere, including dating apps and social media platforms. 
• Nevertheless, it is always essential to alert authorities whenever you fall victim to a crypto romance scam. 

A crypto romance scam happens to many people online. In the online space, many people are there to find love. We can see that in dating apps where millions constantly wait to find their perfect half. In fact, even on social media platforms, many are there to find love. So, scammers take people’s quest for love as an opportunity to scam them. Furthermore, these scams are really unfortunate, as their losses can run into thousands of dollars. 

What is a Crypto Romance Scam? 

Crypto romance scams happen when cybercriminals adopt a new identity to find love. However, this is just a decoy of their primary plan, which is to scam people out of their cryptocurrencies. 

Apparently, cybercriminals are aware that many people can do anything for love. So they infiltrate dating platforms and social media, looking for their prey. Furthermore, these scammers usually make their demands in cryptocurrencies. This is because cryptocurrencies have a way of hiding someone’s real identity to an extent. 

How Does Crypto Romance Scam Work 

Crypto romance scams are a stage-by-stage process that can take some time but are pretty lethal in the end. 

1. It usually starts with two people on dating apps or social media platforms. The scammers know the type of people they want to get for a scam. However, their targets are those who are lonely and desperately need love. In that case, they are mostly older people or retired people. 
2. Once these scammers have found their targets, the next thing they do is to ensure they create the right profile. For instance, their scammers can come out as a soldier serving overseas, a socialite, or even the child of a famous person. 
3. After courting their victims for a while, their next move is usually to establish a relationship. Furthermore, they start sending more intense messages, talking more often, and even sending gifts. 
4. Once a solid relationship emerges, that’s when they launch their scam. Apparently, they come up with excuses such as having a sick parent or their transport fare for a visit. In many cases, they usually demand the victim send such money using cryptocurrencies. Once the victim sends the money using cryptocurrencies, they vanish. It is mainly at that period victims realize they have been scammed. 

Conclusion 

Crypto romance scams are rampant, usually involving scammers taking money from their ‘love interest.’ They usually claim to be someone they are not, grow into a relationship with their victims, and end up defrauding them. Nevertheless, one should be careful about romance scams as they can lead to losses worth thousands of dollars. 

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