Romance scams including fake online dating profiles and would-be “sugar mommas” are increasing as summer approaches, according to U.S. officials who have struggled to stop them.
As of Tuesday, the Better Business Bureau’s Online Scam Tracker showed that 395 romance scams had been reported in the U.S. since Jan. 1. The most recent was reported Sunday.
That was more than the 276 reports that the bureau received last year, itself a 13% increase from 2020, as “Cupid scams” soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are a lot of lonely people who are looking for companionship and who want to believe they’ve found a soul mate,” Judge Tanya Acker, a celebrity judge who has adjudicated romance scams on the CBS reality series “Hot Bench,” told The Washington Times in an email.
The FBI’s Houston office reported in February that romance scams cost Americans looking for love a record $1 billion in 2021, up from $600 million the year before. There are signs it could be worse this year.
Since law enforcement officials rarely recover money from the scammers, Judge Acker said, most victims end up seeking relief in small claims court.
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“They aren’t just being silly and naive,” Judge Acker said. “The villains who groom them have targeted and studied them and have…
