U.S. prosecutors have warned of Valentine’s Day romance scams utilizing crypto after instances price victims tens of millions.
Prosecutors within the U.S. state of Ohio have issued a public warning urging People to look at for love scams tied to cryptocurrency as they have a good time Valentine’s Day.
The alert drew consideration to an increase in emotionally pushed fraud instances the place victims are persuaded to ship digital property after forming on-line relationships.
Federal Warning Outlines Newest Ways
The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Ohio said criminals usually strategy targets by relationship apps, social platforms, or textual content messages, then construct belief for weeks or months earlier than requesting cash for fabricated emergencies or investments.
Based on U.S. Lawyer David M. Toepfer, scammers “prey on belief and emotion,” and so they “will not be searching for love—they’re searching for cash.” He added that such criminals usually concentrate on older adults and emotionally susceptible people.
His workplace additionally cited current prosecutions and investigations, together with a December 2025 case the place authorities charged Frederick Kumi, a Ghanaian nationwide accused of serving to run a romance fraud community that allegedly took greater than $8 million from aged victims since 2023. Per investigators, the group used AI instruments to create false identities and keep convincing conversations earlier than requesting cash. Kumi was arrested in Ghana and is dealing with fees together with wire fraud conspiracy and cash laundering conspiracy.
One other case concerned an Ohio lady who lost about $663,000 after a stranger contacted her by a “incorrect quantity” textual content. The fraudster later guided her by opening accounts on Crypto.com and Coinbase, then satisfied her to switch funds to a faux funding platform.
Happily, detectives from the FBI traced a part of the stolen cash to cryptocurrency wallets and seized greater than $8.2 million in USDT with assist from Tether.
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Knowledge Reveals Wider Pattern in Crypto-Linked Fraud
Latest trade analysis suggests these crimes match a broader sample, as proven in a January 2026 report from blockchain safety agency PeckShield, which estimated that crypto scams and hacks price customers greater than $4 billion in 2025, with about $1.37 billion tied to scams alone.
The corporate mentioned losses from scams rose about 64% from the earlier 12 months, usually involving personalised impersonation ways aimed toward high-value targets.
The Ohio prosecutors have really helpful a number of ways in which folks can shield themselves from romance tricksters, together with reverse picture searches on profile images, skepticism towards anybody who refuses to fulfill in particular person, and a tough rule towards sending cryptocurrency, present playing cards, or wire transfers to folks met on-line.
Additionally they suggested victims to protect all communications and monetary data, then file reviews with the FBI’s Web Crime Criticism Middle. Moreover, the Nationwide Elder Fraud Hotline operates day by day to information older adults by the reporting course of.
Based on the officers, for many who might have despatched crypto, time issues, since legislation enforcement can freeze stolen property, however provided that wallets are recognized earlier than funds transfer by mixers or abroad exchanges.
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