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How sweet it is to be in love in the summer, but don’t let summer love happen too fast through a romance scam.  Romance scams prey on lonely people looking to connect with someone and will move fast with the scammer speaking of a future together and tell you they love you quickly and within time, they are asking for money.

Online dating and social media make it easier for these con artists to trick you into falling for someone who doesn’t exists, which is known as “catfishing.” Usually the online profiles of the scammers will look perfect, overly attractive and young. These catfishers may say they are an American living in a foreign country or they are from that foreign country. They will start manipulating victims with talk about trust and how important it is and then will lead into a request for funds. The scammer will ask for money and usually say it is for an emergency, business problem or plane ticket to finally meet. If the victim sends money, the scammer will find ways to keep asking for more.

It may be embarrassing for victims to report this type of fraud, but the FBI asks for victims to come forward so that online imposters are brought to justice. Protect yourself from financial damage by never sending money or personal information to someone you’ve never met in person. Do not provide your credit card or banking information to book travel arrangements to someone you’ve met online. Also, do image and text searches online to verify who the individual is and that the photos are not being used elsewhere with a different name online. Don’t let an online imposter break your heart and your bank account, learn more about romance scams and how to protect yourself through the Better Business Bureau.

Metro Credit Union takes great precaution in preventing against fraud but all members should be aware that criminals come up with new schemes each and every day. If it does not feel right, odds are it isn’t right! Please alert us to any such potential scams that you may feel are being perpetrated by contacting us  with as many details as possible.