A record $304 million was reported lost to romance scams in 2020. Scammers lurk on dating apps and social media, striking up conversation with strangers until they build up trust to eventually ask for money. The prevalence of these types of scams has been steadily rising for the past four years. In 2020, there was a 50% jump in reported dollar losses from romance scams from 2019. The FTC estimated on average $2,500 was sent to romance scammers in 2020, more than ten times the median loss across all fraud types.

Source: CNN February 21, 2021 07:07 UTC