Warning about online romance scams on Valentine's Day

Scammers often use major holidays or events to trick their victims. Ahead of Valentine’s Day (February 14) and Safer Internet Day, as well as a global campaign to raise awareness about online scams, Meta is sharing tools to help users on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and is releasing new research on online romance scams and updates on how to deal with scams.

Romance scams are a common form of fraud in which scammers approach victims in a variety of ways, such as through text messages, phishing emails, dating apps, social media posts, discussion forums, and many other platforms under the guise of a romantic relationship.

Scammers often pose as attractive, single, and successful individuals, typically military or businessmen. They will send mass messages to multiple targets in a “drop the bomb and wait” tactic to find a response. If the victim responds, the scammer will attempt to build trust over a period of time before asking for money or investing in fraudulent projects.

Forms of romance fraud to be aware of

As Valentine’s Day approaches, users need to be wary of romance scams, which tend to increase during this time. Meta has issued warnings to help users protect themselves and avoid falling victim to scams during this special occasion.

Scammers often post content expressing loneliness and a desire to find love. If someone responds, they invite them to chat via Facebook Messenger, Telegram or WhatsApp, often using an international phone number.

The scammer will then ask the victim to transfer money via bank transfer or gift card online, under the pretext of paying long distance phone charges or sending a gift.

Meta has also detected and taken action against multiple scammers impersonating celebrities to reach victims on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and other messaging apps and websites. They often post photos or videos of celebrities in fan groups or comment sections, claiming to be “looking for love.”

If someone engages, the scammer will suggest continuing the conversation via Telegram, WhatsApp, or other messaging apps. They will also ask the victim to transfer money via bank transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, under the pretext of helping the celebrity buy a gift or solve a financial problem.

What to do to ensure safety?

Meta has issued recommendations to help users stay safer online. Accordingly, social media users need to be careful with strange messages. Users can limit the accounts that can contact them on Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp by updating their privacy settings.

Meta representatives recommend that users always check for unfamiliar account information. Users should search for the account information online, check when the account was created, or use a reverse image search to verify authenticity.

At the same time, users need to be wary of requests to provide personal information or transfer money: Before sending money via gift cards, payment apps or sharing personal data, users should discuss with trusted friends or relatives to avoid being scammed.

Across all of our platforms, Meta automatically detects and removes accounts that show signs of being malicious, including those that impersonate others.

However, since some accounts do not immediately commit fraud, Meta applies warnings to users to encourage them to pause and be cautious when the system detects suspicious signals. Additionally, Meta also imposes restrictions on accounts that show signs of being suspicious.

On Facebook Messenger, a Safety Notices feature has been rolled out to alert users when chatting with an account that appears suspicious, especially if that account may be from another country.

Meta continuously searches for and disrupts romance scams in cyberspace, relying on a constantly updated malicious signal detection system, along with large-scale global investigation and detection operations.

In 2024, Meta removed more than 15,000 URLs containing scam content in Vietnam and more than 9,000 URLs impersonating WhatsApp, Facebook, Meta, Instagram, Threads, and Reality Labs in Singapore.

Additionally, in 2024, Meta also removed more than two million accounts on its platforms linked to fraudulent organizations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines.

In addition to cracking down on scam networks, Meta has also begun testing a new layer of protection using facial recognition technology. When the system detects a suspicious account, or a user reports a fake account, Meta will compare the account's profile photo to the profile photos of public figures on Facebook and Instagram. If the system determines there is a match, the fake account will be taken down immediately.

In Vietnam, in 2024, Meta coordinated with the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) to launch the "Identify Scams" campaign. With the participation of prominent content creators, the campaign helped millions of users identify and deal with online scams through short videos.