Better Business Bureau Follow-Up Study Shows How Romance Scams Often Lead to Further Fraud for Victims
Salt Lake City, February 13, 2019 – With Valentine’s Day comes a surge of activity on dating websites, with singles looking to the internet for a love connection. Unfortunately, these sites are rife with fraudsters who use affection to manipulate their victims out of their money. Worse, a new Better Business Bureau (BBB) report finds, online romance scams often escalate as scammers turn their victims into unwitting accomplices to fraud, known as “money mules.”
In February 2018, BBB issued an in-depth investigative study on romance scams, describing how fraudsters target people who are looking for romance. BBB’s follow-up study – “Fall in Love – Go to Jail: A BBB Report on How Romance Fraud Victims Become Money Mules” – describes how fraudsters then exploit that relationship further. It digs into the scope of the problem, who is behind it, and the need for law enforcement and consumer education to address the issue. Read the complete report here.
As detailed in the original study, romance scammers typically contact their victims through dating websites, apps or social media, often using fake profiles and even stolen credit card information. Using these false identities, scammers may spend months grooming their victims, building what the victim believes to be a loving relationship, before asking for money to handle an emergency or travel expenses.
The financial damage inflicted by these scams, which is often accompanied by far greater emotional harm, is often just the tip of the iceberg. According to the new BBB report, 20 to 30 percent of romance scam victims were used as “money mules” in 2018 alone, with these victims numbering in the thousands.
Money mules act as financial middlemen in a variety of scams, laundering money from other victims by receiving money or goods purchased with stolen credit cards and sending them on to the fraudsters, often out of the country. This often happens when the romance scam victim has no money or already has given all of their money to the scammer. The victim may be a willing accomplice or may have a variety of other motives – love, fear, financial compensation for their own losses – but the outcome is the same: By providing this type of aid to the fraudster instead, the victim aids and abets a variety of other frauds, muddying the scope of a fraud and the identity of the real perpetrator.
The scams and crimes in which money mules may become embroiled include business email compromises, fake check scams (the subject of an in-depth BBB investigative study in 2018), credit card reshipping, grandparent scams and even illegal drug transportation. These frauds have in common that the money mules frequently are romance scam victims.
As law enforcement cracks down on romance and other frauds, prosecuting more and more of these scams’ perpetrators in recent years, money mules at times have been prosecuted as well, facing jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution payments. In most cases, however, there is no desire to take criminal action against unwitting participants who had no financial gain and who stop transferring money for crooks as soon as they realize the role they have been playing.
“The money mule phenomenon adds insult to injury for romance scam victims,” said Jane Driggs, President and CEO. “After losing money and dignity to fraudsters they believed were loving romantic partners, these victims find themselves tangled in a web of even more serious crimes, possibly facing consequences themselves. Law enforcement and educators should work together to expose and stop these scams, to help unwitting fraud victims avoid being re-victimized.”
According to the new BBB report, cybersecurity experts have traced the bulk of online romance scams to Nigeria, though Nigerian nationals operating these frauds are based in several countries around the world, including the U.S. The same groups involved in romance scams frequently operate other frauds on a worldwide scale. One expert reports that at any given time, there may be more than 25,000 scammers online with victims.
In addition, law enforcement officials say that Jamaican groups that operate sweepstakes and lottery frauds – the subject of an in-depth BBB investigative study in 2018 – have begun running romance frauds as well, using those victims to help launder money from sweepstakes and lottery fraud victims.
The report recommends:
· It is important to warn people about romance frauds before they get invested in an online relationship. Alert them that the loss of their money is not the end of the matter because fraudsters may try to enlist them as money mules. It also is important to exercise caution in one’s own online dating ventures in order to avoid falling for a romance fraud at the outset.
· Romance fraud victims often need counseling to help them overcome the trauma of this fraud. More victim support groups like those in Los Angeles and Ventura, California, would be helpful.
· More warnings to money mules may help alert romance fraud victims that they are engaged in assisting frauds and encourage them to stop.
· More prosecutions of romance fraudsters would help deter romance fraud.
· Change existing restrictions to let banks share information with law enforcement, regulators and other financial institutions about possible money mule accounts.
· Increase cooperation and sharing of information between law enforcement officials in different jurisdictions working on the same cases.
· More training and cooperation is needed internationally to recognize and combat romance fraud.
What to do if you are the victim of a romance scam:
● Complain to bbb.org
● Report the fraud:
o Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call 877-FTC-Help
o Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3
o Senate Aging Committee Fraud Hotline at 1-855-303-9470 or through its website.
● Victims who have sent money through Western Union should complain directly to them at 1-800-448-1492.
● Victims who have sent money through MoneyGram should notify them directly at 1-800-926-9400.
About BBB
BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. BBB services to consumers are free of charge. BBB provides objective advice, BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million companies, 11,000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Visit bbb.org for more information.
Show your community some love this Valentine's Day.
By Quint Studer, author of Building A Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America
Most of us love our community and want the best for it. It's our home. It's where we live, work, learn, play, and raise our families. And yet, it's easy to go about our daily lives without ever stopping to think, What can I do to make my community better?
I get it. We are all busy. And it's easy to assume that someone else will do what needs doing. But if there's one thing I've learned from my work with communities across the U.S., it's this: We are all owners. We don't need an official title. We don't have to be assigned a task. We don't have to be wealthy. We all have gifts to share and the ability to make a difference in the lives of others.
My dream is that, in honor of Valentine's Day, every citizen would do just one small thing to make their community better. We all know that random acts of kindness have positive ripple effects that reach far and wide, often unexpectedly so. Could you imagine the amazing results if everyone took part in a mass outpouring of love and positivity?
I'm not talking about big, complicated improvements. If you're a homeowner, you know something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can be a "quick fix" that makes a huge difference in how a room looks (and how you feel living in it). The same is true of a community.
You might start by taking a slow drive around your city. What do you see that needs to be repaired or replaced? Is there a field that needs to be mowed? Does a city park need some shade trees? Do flowers need to be planted? Is there an empty lot that needs trash hauled away, or a dangerous road in need of a crosswalk?
Next, consider what resources you have at your disposal. Maybe you, personally, have the skills or the funding to fix something that's broken. If not, you may know someone who does. If you need proper permission, try to get it. There are always potential reasons why something "can't" be done, but it's often amazing what can happen when we just ask.
Maybe your way of showing your community some love is to serve on the school board, to head up a "housing for the homeless" committee, or to spend a day at your local food pantry or animal shelter. Not only will this single action serve a great practical need (everyone is desperate for volunteers!), it may inspire you to get involved on a deeper level.
This is a great opportunity for a group to work together on a project, but you don't have to join an organized effort. Individual acts of love and kindness are meaningful, too. You can offer to clean up a cluttered yard or place a bench under a tree at the park. Once you start looking, you'll find lots of simple things you can do to make things better.
And we can all express our gratitude for what's right in our community. We can write a letter to the editor that celebrates the bright spots in our community. (Every community has them!) We can send a heartfelt thank-you note to the hospital that took care of our loved one. We can thank a maintenance worker for keeping the streets clean. Positivity and gratitude are contagious. They make a difference. And it feels good to practice them.
Making the decision to love our community is a powerful first step. It's a mind shift that truly changes the conversation around what's possible. I've seen it over and over: When a community decides "we are worth it" and takes control of their future, huge transformations can follow.
Happy Valentine's Day.
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About the Author:
Quint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community and founder of Pensacola's Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community's quality of life and moving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties forward. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida. For more information, visit www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com and www.studeri.org.
About the Book:
Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America (Be the Bulb Publishing, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-9981311-1-5, $24.95) is available at Amazon.com.
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Just Friends
Signs to Pure Noise Records
Announces Release of
Nothing But Love
via Pure Noise Records
Releases New Music Video
"...the group has completely blown their sound out of the water and
created an immediate and recognizable identity that is
separate from their contemporaries."
FEBRUARY 13, 2019 - Pleasanton, CA - Pure Noise Records has officially announced the signing of Just Friends to its roster! The 9-piece, funk punk collective is celebrating the announcement with a re-release of their 2018 album Nothing But Love,as well as a new music video for "Supersonic". Fans can stream/download the album via Spotify and iTunes, and pre-order physical copies here (available March 15th).
On the making of Nothing But Love: "We set out to make something that encouraged people to believe in themselves," vocalist Sam Kless explains. "Something that stood for embracing vulnerability, compassion and self-confidence. Something that people could dance to, and something we could show our parents. After three years of writing I truly believe we accomplished that goal. We just wanted to make everyone who ever believed in us proud."
With excitement towards Just Friends' future with Pure Noise Records, Kless shares, "It's unreal. We still look around in awe and think 'wow we are really here.' Having people who invest not only in your band but you as people is a feeling I cannot describe. Jake and company have taught us so much and are helping us grow in ways I never thought we would be able to. We are beyond thankful they took a chance on us."
Just Friends is made up of Sam Kless (vocals), Chris Palowitch (trombone & keys), Brianda Goyos León (vocals), Avi Dey (trumpet & percussion), Brandon Downum (guitar), Matt Yankovich (guitar), Ryan Ellery (engineering & guitar), Ben Donlon (drums), and Kent Soliday (bass). Their musically diverse sound combines a unique range of punk, brass, hip hop, funk, and emo influences.
Just Friends has hit the road around the U.S. and internationally with bands like Mom Jeans., Oso Oso, Graduating Life, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Kississippi, awakebutstillinbed, and more.
Nothing But Love is the follow-up to 2015's Rock 2 the Rhythm, and is out now via Pure Noise Records. For more information, please visit: http://jfcrewfanclub.com/.
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Nothing But Love Track Listing:
01. 1800CHOPCITY
02. Never Gonna Bring You Down
03. Keep Up
04. Supersonic
05. Flex
06. I Wanna Love You
07. 107.7 KJFC
08. Get Down (ft. Caliph)
09. Nothing but Love
10. Sick of it All
11. Bang My Line 2
12. Faucet
13. Worry
Follow Just Friends:
Website: jfcrewfanclub.com
Twitter: twitter.com/jfcrewbaby
Facebook: facebook.com/JustFriendsCA
Instagram: instagram.com/jfcrewfanclub
