ALERT: Homeland Security Has a Valentine’s Day Warning for Idaho

💔 "Romance Scams" spike in Idaho and around the country near Valentine's Day

💔 Thousands of people have lost collective billions to these scams

💔 Recently divorced or widowed seniors are most common targets

January may have seemed like it was 87 days long, but February 2025 is flying. Valentine’s Day is just a few days away. While many are looking forward to celebrating their love or potentially finding that special someone, scammers are using this time of year to prey upon Idahoans and scam them. 

READ MORE: 6 of the Most Common Scams Affecting Idahoans

When you’re falling in love, you lose your mind a little bit. For women, feeling needed in a new relationship builds up a whole lot of oxytocin. The release of that oxytocin makes you feel good, so you’ll give and give and give to your partner to keep that feeling coming. And that’s what the scammers are counting on. 

Homeland Security Issues Romance Scam Alert Warning

Most of us don’t want to be alone on Valentine’s Day, so if you’re not currently attached, it’s only natural to jump on a dating app or social media to find a potential match. That may be putting you at risk of what Homeland Security calls a "romance scam.” In a single year alone, more than 70,000 Americans admitted to being tricked by one of these scams which the agency describes as:

...a type of confidence scheme. Scammers work to gain a victim's trust and then provide false information or misrepresentation to gain a financial benefit by relying on the compassion of the victim.

The United States Secret Service adds that the scammers put a lot of time into learning about their victims before approaching them. They’ll troll your social media pages looking for clues about everything from your interests and pets to your profession and friendships. 

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Once they build a fake online profile, they’ll use what they’ve learned to “woo” you into what you think is a meaningful romantic relationship. Unfortunately, that connection is one sided. What they’re trying to do is manipulate you to the point that you’d do anything to help them if they were in trouble…including sending money. 

Signs Your Perfect Partner Isn’t Who They Say They Are

Homeland Security says some good indications that your new internet boyfriend is actually a scam include:

• Claiming to be abroad for work or pleasure or live out of the country
• Love bombing you and quickly professing their love early in the relationship
• Limited social media presence outside of dating app you met on
• Requests sexually explicit videos/photos, but only sends general photos of themselves
• Making excuses for not taking part in video calls 
• Doesn’t follow through on promise to meet and be together in person 
• Asks for money in the form of crypto, gift cards or wire transfer

Get Out Before It’s Too Late

The romantic connection you feel with the scammer feels so real, that the idea of ending things seems earth shattering. Trust us when we say we know that feeling all too well. We’ve gone through break-ups or endured the end of friendships that have left us feeling emotionally paralyzed, but with time that devastation will pass. 

However, what may not pass is the financial hardship you’ll experience if you fall for one of these scams. The Idaho Department of Finance, which refers to these romance sams as a “pig butchering scam,” reveals that over the period of four years victims lost a collective $75 billion in this sort of scam.  

If you think you may have potentially gotten yourself involved in a romance scam, Homeland Security says you shouldn’t be hard on yourself. These scammers are extremely manipulative and have gone the extra mile to gain your trust. They do, however, advise you to:

• Immediately cut off contact 
• Do NOT send money, crypto or agree to open an account on their behalf
• Tell someone you trust what’s happening 
• Inform customer service at the platform where you met this person so that they can remove their profile
• Reach out to your local police department

If you know an elderly or recently divorced senior, make sure you share this information with them. They're the population most often targeted by romance scams.