Ever heard of sentimental scams?

Feelings can also be the subject of scam. Research conducted by IngBanca Pioniera in Digital Banking, in collaboration with Yougov Italia, He highlighted data that invite you to reflect (and to pay more and more attention).

One Italian out of two, in fact, had at least a contact experience from an unknown person who tried to establish an online emotional relationship for financial purposes. Women are the most aware of the phenomenon compared to men (65% against 47%) and also 75% of Italians heard of people scammed by someone who pretended to be a celebrity.

Also known as Love Fraud or romance scam, sentimental scams They are an emerging risk in a hyperconnex society and in which more and more people look for the soul mate online. The dynamic is always the same: the scammer pretends to be the perfect soul mate, conquers the victim’s trust And then comes the request for money, gifts or banking information. Obviously, the love story proves to be a farce and the money vanishes into thin air. And no, there will never be a first appointment.

How widespread is the phenomenon?

Romantic scams are constantly increasing. According to the data of the latest Clusit report relating to the first half of 2024, the Italian Postal Police investigated 293 cases of ROmance scamby referring to the judicial authority 101 people (equal to an increase of 46.5% compared to the first six months of 2023 when the cases treated were 200).

According to the search for Ing and Yougov Italia, the most recognized alarm signals are the request for money for sudden emergencies (80%), dramatic stories (64%), Avoid video calls and even live dating (63%)(63%). On this last aspect, 70% of young people between 18 and 34 years old are more careful. The research also emerges that 65%of Italians would immediately refuse a request for money from online contact, with greater diffidence between over 55 (70%) and women (71%). The main channel? Social media, considered the ideal vehicle for these illegal activities (71%), followed from apps and dating sites (respectively 54%and 37%) email and direct messages (27%).

How to defend yourself?

The romance scam It is just one of the Social engineering attack strategy used by computer scammers who exploit emotions. The latter can take on any role And pretend to be a person trusted or close to the victim (friend, relative, colleague, employer and so on) or a respectable institution (bank, public authority, company and so on). According to Ing-Youugov Italia research, One in three Italians (34%) received calls/messages from someone who presented themselves as an employee of their bank or an official body.

It is therefore important to develop a culture of verification. According to the Ing-Youugov Italia survey, For 1 Italian out of 3, private companies must also do their part (for example banks for financial fraud and Fintech companies). This is the case of Feature in the app “is really ing?” Which with a click allows the bank’s customers to counter the telephone spoofing, immediately checking if whoever calls in the name of an ing is actually an employee of the digital bank. Always to keep attention high on the issue of safety, ING also launched one social campaign to the rhythm of music With the aim of informing users captivatingly about how to defend themselves from the main fraud that run on the web or on the phone.

«There are still too few people who are interested in and activate to protect themselves from fraud with consequent possible economic and psychological damage – he says Damiano Zanisi, Chief Ing Italy Chief Ing Italy-. A fundamental aspect to counteract computer and digital scams is therefore represented by awareness and education activities on users and in Ing, we are very active on this front. In addition to all IT prevention activities in Chief of course to our IT systems we make available practical tools useful for customers To intercept the scams, such as the Anti-Spoofing functionality “It’s really ing?” that we developed against telephone scams, e we make information campaigns on a large scale, aimed at spreading the practice and the “culture of verification” ».

Ing’s advice to protect themselves from scammers

1. Be wary of those who declare eternal love after a few messages.
2. Attentive to too perfect profiles (they seem to come out of a movie?).
3. If you never want to make a video call, a large alarm bell!
4. Never send money to those who have never met in person.
5. Watch out for the torn stories to ask you for economic help.
6. Check profile photos: reverse search on Google can unmask fakes.
7. Protect your data: never give anyone, but really anyone, password or bank codes. They are personal!
8. If it’s too beautiful to be true, it is probably not true: easy money does not exist.
9. Report suspicion to dating platforms.
10. Culture of the verification: you confirmed the person who asks you for money if you know it, so as to unmask it.

Tips to protect money from scammers

1. Raise the guard: Set Complex and unique passwords For each account
2. Use thetwo -factor authenticationespecially for bank accounts.
3. Preventing is better than taking care – Install and keep a program updated on your devices antivirus which protects them from unauthorized access.
4. Attention to what I share – the Personal informationthe photo he is video Which share on social media and on dating sites could be used by scammers to blackmail you.
5. The bank calls you and asks you for data to perform operations or download apps? Don’t do it! Never dictate your codes And do not install any apps at the request of others.
6. Culture of verification: you call and check with your bank if the call is legitimate
7. Do the accounts come back? Periodically check your bank accounts To verify that there are no unknown transactions.
8. Think before clicking. The links and attachments you receive from unknown senders by e-mail or by message could contain viruses or be attempts to scam.