Love’s Expensive Lie: When Cupid’s Arrow Strikes Your Wallet

With Valentine’s Day just a heartbeat away, it seems that not everyone is shooting for love with Cupid’s arrow — some are aiming straight for the bank account! In a startling revelation by the Federal Trade Commission, almost 70,000 heartsick souls were romance-scammed out of a whopping $1.3 billion in 2022. That’s a lot of not-so-sweet heartbreak and empty wallets!

Let’s face it, love can sometimes blind us, but it’s time to put on our scam-spotting glasses. These fraudsters, emboldened by an arsenal of AI, are specifically targeting the most tenderhearted among us — the elderly. So before you swipe right or send a virtual bouquet, remember that the online charmer promising eternal love might just be fishing for your financial details instead. It’s the thought that counts, they say, but I doubt that’s the sentiment we’re going for here.