COLUMBIA, S.C. — Year-in and year-out, scammers are on a mission to steal identities, money, and livelihoods - and this Valentine's Day poses another risk.
The FBI in Columbia is warning residents in the area to be mindful of what they call "Romance Scammers."
Kevin Wheeler, the spokesperson for FBI Columbia, said someone attempting to scam another person will "reach out on social media, and on chat rooms or dating apps."
"They are trying to get as much information as they can about the victim," he said.
The scam has become a trend recently due to dating becoming more accessible on mobile devices - and especially during the pandemic - targeting people finding conversation during isolation.
"Here in South Carolina looking back at 2020 there was a little over $4 million lost from victims being scammed out of their money," Wheeler said. "And, in 2021, we are anticipating that to increase dramatically."
But there are ways to prevent yourself from being scammed. Wheeler said most will "profess their love very early on."
"They will want to carry these conversations on dating apps or move them to emails or messaging apps," he explained.
He also noted they typically like to avoid meeting in person and will often push a sense of urgency on their target for money.
Recently, scams have evolved from taking money directly to convincing a victim to invest in fake cryptocurrencies.
Wheeler wants people to be extremely vigilant and make sure someone is legitimate when beginning a relationship, actually seeing them in person or at least making sure their photo isn't taken from the internet.