Scammers love Valentine’s Day.
This is their chance to bust out their romantic acting chops to swindle unsuspecting people out of money.
Don’t let this happen to you! Beware of those 3 Valentine’s Day scams:
1. Fake e-cards
If you get an e-card from an unknown person or even “webmasters” of popular e-card websites, delete it right away.
It’s likely to be a scammer who put a virus in the e-card that will give them remote access to your online banking accounts and passwords.
2. Bogus online profiles
A lot of scammers create fake online profiles this time of the year to capture lonely hearts and string them along for months before asking for money.
If an attractive person contacts you on Facebook or an online dating site, tread this carefully. Don’t ever dole out cash to anyone unless you’ve met them in person. You can also see if your new sweetie’s photo is fake by visiting www.RomanceScams.org.
3. Copycat websites
Every February, the Internet is abundant with fake websites for flower deals, cheap romantic getaways, and discounted jewelry.
Scammers pose as legitimate websites, often by creating a web address that’s similar to that of their target. For example, jared.comm instead of jared.com.
Always pay attention to the web addresses in your Google results, and don’t open any unsolicited Valentine-related emails from a business that doesn’t already have your contact information.
The best way to prevent yourself from being scammed is to be smart, alert, and aware. Approach everything with caution, and stay away from making impulsive decisions online.