Romance Fraud, Romance Scam or confidence fraud.

What is Romance Fraud, Romance Scam or confidence fraud ?

"Romance fraud is a kind of scam led through social engineering techniques, used to leverage emotional relationships, to subsequently obtain financial gain or services. While people roam online to find love and companionship, scammers have found a way to make money out of it. And the business is booming. Although it is not a recent phenomenon, romance fraud has been increasingly popular, especially during COVID 19 crisis, where some people expressed emotional distress and loneliness."
https://www.idnow.io/glossary/romance-fraud/

How Romance Fraud has become Multi Million Dollars industry?

"According to a report by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, these hoaxes accounted for $475 million in damages in 2019. This jaw-dropping number stems from a data set of nearly 20,000 complaints submitted to the agency. As some of those scammed may choose not to spread the word about their mishaps, the actual breadth and depth of the issue could be much more impactful."

The logic behind romance scams

"To set this abuse in motion, scammers take advantage of people who are looking for a romantic relationship on dating sites, social media, and flirt apps. Incidentally, romance scammers may use “exotic” methods to get in touch with would-be victims.
A particularly unorthodox technique is to establish a contact in crowded places via wireless communication services such as Apple’s AirDrop feature. Once a target is on the hook and does not mind playing along, the malefactor will try to move the foul play online."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbalaban/2020/09/11/romance-scamshalf-a-billion-in-annual-losses-and-growing/

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