{"id":5237,"date":"2025-02-14T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/tunnel-of-love-scams\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T14:00:00","slug":"tunnel-of-love-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/tunnel-of-love-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Tunnel of Love Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/p>\n<div data-module=\"content\">\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_bold\">NEWS BRIEF<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      It appears that the darker side of romance has come to the forefront, as the financial losses incurred by individuals in 2024 due to love-baiting scams, also known as<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      <a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/cyberattacks-data-breaches\/interpol-time-drop-term-pig-butchering\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pig butchering<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      scams, have increased by 40%.<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      According to ChainAnalysis, these scams, which involve fraudsters approaching victims on dating apps or sites, building a relationship with them, and convincing them to provide money or invest in a supposed &#8220;business venture,&#8221; are on the rise. The number of individuals losing money to these scams has increased by 210% year-over-year in 2024, likely due to the growing number of scams in circulation. Moreover, these operations are increasingly being run from compounds in Southeast Asia, where staff members are being<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      <a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/cyber-risk\/forced-labor-camps-fuel-billions-of-dollars-in-cyber-scams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">held against their will<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      .<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" dataptestid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      On a positive note, the average loss per person has decreased by 55% year-over-year.<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      &#8220;The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a strategic shift in pig-butchering scams,&#8221;<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      <a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.infosecurity-magazine.com\/news\/romance-baiting-losses-surge-40\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">researchers noted<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      . &#8220;Scammers may be spending less time grooming targets, resulting in smaller payments, but targeting a larger number of victims.&#8221;<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ContentParagraph ContentParagraph_align_left\" data-testid=\"content-paragraph\">\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      Overall, given that romance baiting accounted for a third of total crypto fraud revenue in 2024, the signs suggest that romance scams may become even more prevalent in the coming year. Users of dating apps should exercise caution when connecting with others online and<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      <a class=\"ContentText-BodyTextChunk ContentText-BodyTextChunk_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wnem.com\/2025\/02\/13\/ag-warns-romance-scams-ahead-valentines-day\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">avoid sending money<\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ContentText ContentText_variant_bodyNormal\" data-testid=\"content-text\"><br \/>\n      , cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or prepaid gift cards to individuals they do not know personally.<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async=\"\" defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js?xfbml=1&amp;version=v3.2&amp;hash=606879e94b06283a619cebf5b7449644\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darkreading.com\/cyber-risk\/warning-tunnel-of-love-leads-to-scams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source Link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWS BRIEF It appears that the darker side of romance has come to the forefront, as the financial losses incurred by individuals in 2024 due to love-baiting scams, also known&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":5238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cybersecurity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/datingapps1800_dpa_picture_alliance_alamyjpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}