ORLANDO, Fla. – In 2023, more than 65,000 Americans fell victim to romance scams losing more than a billion dollars.
News 6 investigated and found Florida had the second highest number of victims than any other state, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
In this week’s Schemes and Rip-offs alert, News 6 spoke to Rebecca D’Antonio of Orlando, who says it can happen to anyone.
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Met online
It was an online relationship built on pictures, poetry, and flat-out lies.
“I hadn’t even heard of romance scams, so it wasn’t even on my radar,” D’Antonio told News 6.
She joined an online dating site with a friend. Soon after, she started chatting with a man claiming to be Matthew Shaun, she said.
“In the beginning, it was just getting-to-know-you questions, you would ask of each other, learning about each other, learning whether or not you’re compatible,” D’Antonio said.
They bonded for weeks, exchanging pictures, and cute text messages. He even wrote a poem.
The set-up
They chatted online for a couple of months, according to D’Antonio.
The plan was for them to meet in person after “Matthew’s” business trip to Nigeria with his son.
He even sent a picture of the two of them on the plane, D’Antonio said.
But then it came — the emergency, the set-up.
D’Antonio said his credit card supposedly stopped working overseas and he needed money fast.
She had reservations but sent it anyway.
“Yes, I did start sending money,” D’Antonio said. “I thought it was going to be a one-and-done, max two transactions,” she said.
Over the course of a year, she made many wire transfers and has dozens and dozens of receipts.
There are receipts for $1,000, $1,900, $2,100.
D’Antonio says she lost about $100,000 to someone she would never meet.
“As things kept escalating and becoming more dire, both for them and for myself, I’m taking out loans. I’m pulling money out of my 401K. I’m maxing out my credit cards,” said D’Antonio.
Thousands of victims
Keith Givens is a nearly 30-year veteran of the FBI.
“We receive 1000′s of complaints every year from victims who have been victimized by romance scams,” said Givens.
News 6 uncovered in 2023, Floridians lost $63 million in romance scams, according to FBI records.
Only Californians lost more.
Breanne McClellan is the owner of Social Catfish, an online investigation service that helps users avoid internet fraud.
“They’re not able to come to see you and verify who they are, these are red flags right in the beginning and that’s something we’re trying to spread awareness about,” said McClellan.
McClellan anticipates Artificial Intelligence making romance scams even worse.
In minutes, she demonstrated how she could change her face with an AI video face swap.
A video call used to be foolproof — no more.
“This actually makes our jobs tougher to do,” McClellan said.
It’s more ways to rip off those looking for love. D’Antonio says the whole experience left her flat broke and emotionally busted.
“I started thinking about suicide and started stockpiling sleeping pills,” she said.
D’Antonio ended up filing for bankruptcy after she realized it was a scam.
The FBI tells News 6 that the numbers of victims and the dollar amount of losses are likely skewed because many people don’t report.
If you think you’ve been the victim of a romance scam, go online to report it.
The rule of thumb is to meet in person. Do not send money to someone you haven’t met. And remember scammers have those sad stories for one reason, to play on your emotions.
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