Romance scams on the rise
A local certified counselor and law enforcement discuss how to navigate the "love" holiday online.
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – February is the season of love, but sometimes the month can also feel like a season of sorrow.
Valentine’s Day can be a tough holiday to navigate if you’ve lost a significant other or experience loneliness.
Veronica Harrison is a nationally certified counselor and the county administrator for Lowndes County Community Counseling.
“If it’s a loss of a loved one that they normally had around this time, those are issues that they have. Grief … it doesn’t have a period, so a lot of times you’ll have people who are grieving someone they’ve lost,” said Veronica Harrison, LPC-S.
Experts say that loneliness can sometimes drive people to social media or dating apps to fulfill that desire for companionship.
However, not everyone online has the best intentions, and some target the lonely through romance scams.
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said scammers often target senior citizens, those who are more vulnerable.
“Primarily, they target the elderly citizens in our community, and they try to persuade them because they are trustworthy. When somebody calls them and starts telling them a story, they believe them,” said Hawkins.
AARP research shows that nearly 11 million adults over 50 have been affected by these types of scams.
Hawkins said he’s seen a number of scam cases across the County.
“The scammers will persuade them to go to the bank and withdraw large sums of cash to prevent their account from being ‘frozen’ or whatever. And persuade them to go to a kiosk and send them to money through Bitcoin, so they can ‘save the money’ for them,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins said scammers often build trust with the victims and bait them with flattery or false promises before asking for money.
To help fill the void of feeling alone, Harrison recommends getting to know yourself or going to community events.
Sheriff Hawkins advises not sending money to anyone you have not met in person.
