Scammers breaking hearts this Valentine’s Day
Scammers are the one’s breaking hearts this Valentine’s Day, even though it is a day to appreciate the ones you love, not lose all the money in your bank account.
Flowers are obviously one of the top purchases on Valentine’s Day, but scammers are using flowers as a way to get people’s credit card information.
“An email shows up and it is from a flower company. It states that the flowers you have ordered for a loved one won’t be delivered until you have logged into their system and re-enter your credit card information,” said Mike Harrison, Mid-Missouri regional director for the Better Business Bureau.
The red flag with this scam is having to re-enter your information.
Harrison said this scam is successful, because so many people are ordering flowers around this time, and do not want their loved ones to feel forgotten if the flowers do not arrive.
Online dating is also an area where scammers are preying this time of year.
“The number one thing with dating websites is catphishing, where people are online, they aren’t who they appear to be, and they basically want to steal your personal information or your money,” said Harrison.
Harrison said things to watch out for on dating websites are people who want to move fast in a relationship or are wanting to get off the site quickly so they do not get caught.
Scammers on dating sites often build up trust before asking for money said Harrison.
Valentine’s cards online are also something scammers are using this year.
“It appears to be from Hallmark. So when you click on the link, it will take you to a fake website, and they ask you to view the card to download or update the flash player. That is a red flag having to download a virus onto your computer, it’s a scam,” said Harrison.
