CEOs Should be Concerned About Romance and Valentine’s Day Scams

Scammers are using romance scams to get access to your business information. Romance scammers can target employees and use malicious techniques such as blackmail to bypass company security systems and gain access to sensitive company data.?

Due to COVID-19’s past restrictions on our daily lives, dating apps and social media have experienced a surge in users seeking social interaction and romance online.?

Businesses are vulnerable because they are often perceived as having access to large amounts of money. Fraudsters build trust with company staff and convince them to divulge information such as passwords, phone numbers, family members, employers info, and social media account information before threatening to post the photos or videos to the victim’s social media platforms or release them to family members, friends, or employers and colleagues. They may also threaten to upload the explicit photos or videos to various pornographic websites if payment is not made.?

What Executive Management Should do right Now!

It’s important to ensure your employees receive proper cyber awareness training to recognize these types of scams. Your employees should be able to recognize when they are being socially engineered to give up sensitive information and avoid being tricked by scammers. By ensuring this, your organization’s risk of an insider threat from tricked and blackmailed employees decreases.?

Train staff to:

• Don't give out personal or business information.
• Don't respond to email messages from unknown sources.
• Click on links in emails only if you are sure they come from a trusted source and are legitimate, especially if the sender asks you to click on the link before they can send you something important, such as an attachment or payment confirmation message (which should also be sent through email).
• Trust your instincts: If someone seems too good to be true, they probably are!
• Never send money for any reason to someone you don't know--even if it's just one dollar!

Include Scams in Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Romance Scams

When you see a person through rose-colored glasses, your view of them may become too optimistic and unrealistic. As with any relationship, you should always be aware and look out for any red flags before you go any further, which especially applies to online lovers.?

One especially prevalent scam is the wrong number scam, in which the scammer will text the victim claiming they know them, pretending that they meant to text someone else. To lure you into a conversation, they may ask a question or send an explicit photo.

Along with young single individuals, a growing number of elderly individuals are also targeted in romance scams, as they usually have more money and are more willing to give it away. In 2020, scammers stole $139 million from adults aged 60 and older through romance scams. They typically take advantage of the elderly victim’s loneliness to establish a relationship and plan an in-person meetup that depends on the victim’s willingness to part with money.?

Here are some red flags to look out for in a romance scam:

• The scammer promises to meet in person but always gives excuses to avoid it.
• The scammer will ask for money. They may say they have debt, need financial assistance, or ask for travel funds.
• The scammer will request money through methods that are difficult to trace or get back.
• The relationship moves very quickly.
• The scammer tries to get your personal information.

Also, be sure to look out for fake online dating platforms, which are often used to steal sensitive data and credit card information. In any case, never share any sensitive information that is not necessary.?

Conclusion

As Valentine’s Day approaches, threat actors may attempt to prey on individuals seeking companionship or romance.

It’s important to ensure your employees receive proper cyber awareness training to recognize these types of scams. Your employees should be able to recognize when they are being socially engineered to give up sensitive information and avoid being tricked by scammers. By ensuring this, your organization’s risk of an insider threat from tricked and blackmailed employees decreases.?

If you believe you’ve been the victim of a scam, you can report it to the?FTC online?using its complaint form. The FTC suggests users include the website where they met the scammer in a complaint. You can also file a complaint with the FBI’s?Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Sources

• Better Business Bureau - BBB Scam Alert: Top Valentine’s Day Scams?https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/26500-bbb-scam-alert-top-valentines-day-scams
• FBI - FBI Warns of Romance Scams Ahead of Valentine’s Day?https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/columbia/news/fbi-warns-of-romance-scams-ahead-of-valentines-day

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