Romance scams have been on the rise during the pandemic, according to the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, Action Fraud.įraudsters have seen the crisis as fertile ground for a whole host of complex tricks, and many are now moving into the arena of relationships. Many couples meet through various dating apps and websites, before going on to start in-person relationships, but a growing number don’t manage to make it that far. Online dating can be a great tool for building connections and even for finding lifelong relationships. And that may happen even sooner, given the impact of the pandemic on dating in person. Research in 2019 by the Imperial College Business School in London predicted that 2035 will be the first year when more couples will first meet online than in real life. “These scams are well-organized, and skilled in identifying and exploiting vulnerable users based on their situation, interests, and level of technical ability.Chatting online without meeting face to face is now a common part of the modern dating scene.
“CryptoRom scams continue to flourish through the combination of social engineering, cryptocurrency, and fake applications,” the report said. To avoid being scammed, users remember to only download apps from legitimate app stores, and to be wary of people they meet online. The researchers said that while some victims have realized they were being defrauded before losing their money, some “have lost their entire savings and even taken out loans with the hope that they will get their money back.” The fraudsters also target Android users with malicious CryptoRom apps using what look like legitimate apps, but are instead distributed through corrupt websites. Sophos researchers said some victims downloaded fraudulent versions of the legitimate BTCBOX Japanese crypto exchange app that were made available through the TestFlight feature. But the scammers exploit the TestFlight feature, which provides a way for users to download bogus apps outside of the App Store. The latest involves fraudsters creating “test versions” of their shady apps through Apple’s TestFlight feature that is also used by legitimate developers.Ĭompanies can use TestFlight so that select users can test software. To bypass Apple’s security measures preventing bad actors from making malicious apps available through the Apple App Store, criminals have been able to use workarounds, the report said. Sophos previously said that one victim transferred the equivalent of $1.4 million worth of Bitcoin into a fake trading app. In some cases, victims may be forced to pay a “tax” to withdraw their money, which they learn by chatting with an in-app customer service representative who is part of the scheme. At this point, the scammers are able to lock the victim out of their accounts. Problems arise, however, when the victim wants to stop trading and withdraw their money.
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