CLEVELAND — Valentine's Day is over, but criminals are still looking to exploit people looking for love.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, losses linked to online romance scams topped $823 million in 2024.
These schemes are happening on dating apps, social media and increasingly with AI chatbots.
Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank spoke with a cybersecurity strategist about how AI is making romance scams more sophisticated.
"What's happening is AI is making the conversation sound very real and very familiar in a way that wasn't possible a few years ago," said Paul Keener from GuidePoint Security.
Anyone can become a victim of a romance scam, but Keener said older adults are more susceptible.
"They're not quite as tied into all the scams and the technology and also they're targeted mainly because there's an assumption that they are financially stable, they have steady income or they have retirement, they have money," said Keener.
Red flags of romance scams include: the relationship moving very fast, you never meet in person and repeated requests for money.
If you think you've been scammed, file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
