It’s the season for love — and romantic scams
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
Pennsylvania State Police at the Belle Vernon barracks are investigating after a victim of an online dating catfishing scheme reported being duped out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The investigation announcement comes a day after the Federal Trade Commission released data showing a massive increase in “romance scams.” The FBI is cautioning Americans before Valentine’s Day about online dating and social media scams.
In a public information release, Trooper Timothy Gordon said troopers from the Belle Vernon barracks were called the afternoon of Jan. 21 to a home in Fallowfield Township for a report of theft by deception or impersonation.
The victim, whose identity has not been released, told troopers she was the victim of a catfishing scheme — also known as a romance scam — through a dating website.
In the report, Gordon wrote that prior to realizing she had been deceived, the victim transferred $620,000 from “an unknown bank account to another unknown bank account for the unknown individual she was talking to through a dating site.”
The trooper said the investigation is ongoing, but that police “have learned that all bank accounts were from foreign countries.”
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