CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The FBI is warning that sextortion crimes are on the rise.
From 2022 to 2023, the agency's Charlotte office saw a 20% increase in reports of these crimes. The FBI said financial sextortion crimes involve a person creating a fake social media account to lure victims into sending explicit pictures and then threatening to share them with the victim's family or friends unless they pay up.
While these crimes are up this year fraudsters have been scamming people looking for love online for years.
WCNC Charlotte talked to a security expert about what you need to look out for online, so you're not left asking, "Where's the money?"
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reports in 2022, romance scams accounted for almost $740 million in financial losses for victims. So while dating apps and social media may be effective in meeting new people, experts also warn, that if it's too good to be true, it probably is.
"A romance scam is where someone uses the promise of a romantic relationship in order to build trust with you. And once they created that trust, they'll start to ask for money or for you to invest in something," Claire McHenry, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association explained.
McHenry said anyone with a phone or an email address is vulnerable.
"They'll often start out as a text message or post on social media or a message on a dating app," she said.
McHenry said people starting out in a romantic relationship should be interested in you and not your money.
"This is a problem that we see all the time," she said. "It's often dressed up in new clothes. So we'll see it track the headlines. And right now we're seeing some of these investments that they're pitching involving things like cryptocurrencies and digital assets, even artificial intelligence."
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McHenry said these are the red flags you want to watch out for:
"People making a lot of excuses not to meet in person. They'll be traveling for business a lot, or they'll live across the country. We'll also see that they use secrecy, they don't want you to share this information with anyone else, or that the investment is just for a select number of people. We'll also see promises of high returns with little to no risk," McHenry explained.
McHenry said as a reminder, that's not how investments work. They all carry some risk. And using that fear of missing out may be a red flag as well.
Here are some tips to avoid becoming a victim of a scam:
- Emotional appeal - Any pitch that ratchets up your emotion will inhibit your rational judgment.
- Sense of urgency - You MUST act now, or else.
- Request for unorthodox payment - Gift cards, prepaid credit cards, wire transfers, etc.
- Explanations that don't ring true - If your new “landlord” can’t show you the inside of the house, that could be because they don’t own it.
- You won, now pay up - It’s not a prize if you have to pay for it: taxes, fees, shipping, whatever.
- Too good to be true - That’s because it’s not true. Sorry, your long-lost relative didn’t die, leaving you millions. That car you bought online for a third of its Kelly Blue Book value doesn’t really exist. The son of a billionaire diamond broker didn’t “swipe right” on you and fall instantly in love. That work-at-home job paying you hundreds of dollars an hour for stuffing envelopes isn’t real.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte's Where's The Money series is all about leveling the playing field in the Carolinas by helping others and breaking down barriers. WCNC Charlotte doesn't want our viewers to be taken advantage of, so we’re here to help. Watch previous stories where we ask the question “Where’s the Money” in the YouTube playlist below and subscribe to get updated when new videos are uploaded.