When she realized the man asking her for money online wasn’t really in love with her, she got out of the romance scam.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Today is Valentine’s day and while love is in the air – so are romance scams.
The topic has been thrust into the spotlight with the new Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler.” The story focuses on women who say they were conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by the same man they all had met on Tinder.
While many people may think they would never fall for a romance scam – the Federal Trade Commission reports incidents have skyrocketed over the past five years with 2021 seeing an increase of romance scam reports in every age group. The FTC says reported losses hit a record $547 million for the year.
Yvonne Costales found herself as a target last September.
“I did not know what a romance scam was,” Costales said. “I’m not a stupid person. I’m not a desperate person. I’m just an average grandma. Still, they got me on the hook.”
RELATED: How to spot online romance scams
Costales said she met a man on Tinder and in hindsight realizes there were early red flags.
“In the…
