Could you have fallen for a cybercriminal’s fraudulent romance scam and been a money mule, without ever being asked for a dime? According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s August 2019 PSA, the answer might be yes! Data from the DOJ backs up these findings, as there has been a recent arrest of 80 romance scammers who stole millions from Americans.
Unlike being a drug mule, you won’t need to smuggle drugs across a border or even know that you’ve been tricked. If you don’t want to be recruited by fraudsters to launder money, this is how to avoid becoming an innocent victim tricked by their “romance playbook.”
Romance Scammers Playbook
Although you will think you’re falling in love with a caring, feeling human, scammers treat their romance scams like sales jobs. They use scammer scripts from a so-called romance scammers playbook. These scripts contain written prompts on what they should say and how to respond in every situation.
If you tell them you’re widowed, they have a scripted reply. If you ask about their hobbies, they have the perfect answer ready to send. When a cyber actor is in grooming mode, these prompted communications will be frequent and emotionally intense. Although it seems as though a cyber actor is a perfect man or woman, all they had to do was copy/paste ready made answers into an email or text.
