FBI warns of romance scams ahead of Valentine’s Day

ST. LOUIS - For years, brave romance scam victims have shared their stories to prevent others from meeting the same fate. But rarely do those who’ve committed the scams tell us how to avoid them.

“You have to be careful who you talk to on social media,” said "Chris," a reformed scammer in Nigeria.

We connected with him through Social Catfish, a company dedicated to preventing online scams through reverse search technology. Chris says he created fake identities to scam unsuspecting women on social media and dating apps.

“Overall, I would say I made about $70,000 to $75,000," he said.

The United States is the most scammed country in the world, with more than 466,000 online scam victims in 2023. Americans lost a record $10.3 billion, mainly targeted due to wealth and widespread use of technology.

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center says these scams start in places like Nigeria and Russia, where U.S. law enforcement has no jurisdiction.

That’s why Karen Marinos, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois, field office, says its critical to avoid romance scams before they happen.

“They are looking for victims who appear to be vulnerable, somebody that they feel they can exploit fairly quickly,” Marinos shared.

The scammer playbook involves finding common interests with victims and professing their love early on. Before long, they’ll share stories of personal tragedies or legal troubles to get access to their victims’ money.

“This is money that are people's life savings, sometimes their entire retirement savings. It's a really sad situation. When these victims come forward and they share their stories,” Marinos said.

Chris says he stopped scamming after one of his victims fell into debt. He says her kids stopped talking to her, and she suffered with depression.

“If someone was doing that to my mom, I probably would not be happy. I had a guilty conscience. I called her on a video call, I showed my face, I apologized. She cried. She forgave me,” he said.

FOX 2's Mike Colombo asked Chris if he had given the money back to her.

“I don’t have the money. I spent everything. I told her maybe if I have the money in the future I’d give it back to her,” he said.

More than four years since he says he committed his final scam, Chris now consults for Social Catfish. He says he regrets his actions and still worries he’ll get in trouble for what he did.

Marinos hopes victims will help authorities bring scammers like Chris to justice.

“People should not in any way be ashamed of them being a victim of these types of scams. It's important that they immediately report this type of activity,” she said.

For more information from the FBI regarding romance scams, click here.