The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of
Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) has launched a new public service
campaign to raise awareness about relationship investment scams.
These scams often begin with an unsolicited message through
social media or text, where a scammer tries to build a personal connection over
time. Once trust is established, the scammer convinces the victim to invest in
fraudulent opportunities. These schemes are commonly referred to as romance
scams, financial grooming scams, or “pig butchering” scams.
CFTC Launches Campaign on Romance Investment Scams
Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
launched the “Dating or Defrauding?” campaign to tackle the growing number of
romance-related investment scams, which resulted in nearly $4 billion in losses
last year.
This initiative, led by the CFTC and other agencies,
highlights the changing tactics used by scammers, including fake profiles and
cryptocurrency schemes, often initiated through dating apps or social media to
lure victims into fraudulent investments.
‘Dating or Defrauding?’ a Joint Effort to Alert Online Daters, Social Media Users of Relationship Investment Scams: https://t.co/n7uIO6n5wC pic.twitter.com/avtZ1WoJyp
— CFTC (@CFTC) February 10, 2025
SEC Campaign Warns About Relationship Investment Scams
As part of the campaign, the SEC released two animated
videos titled “Don’t Open the Door to Scammers” and “Let’s Talk About
Relationship Investment Scams”. The campaign also includes a resource page that
explains how the scams work, what signs to watch for, and how to protect
against them.
Key advice from the SEC includes avoiding responses to
unknown messages, being skeptical of unsolicited investment offers regardless
of the sender, cutting off contact if a scam is suspected, and reporting
incidents to the SEC.
You may find it interesting at FinanceMagnates.com: 32%
of Scams Target Investors on Social Media: AI-Generated Fraud to Rise in 2025.
SEC Highlights Billion-Dollar Losses in Scams
Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda emphasized that investor
protection remains central to the SEC’s work, noting that these scams can
result in billions of dollars in losses each year.
Lori Schock, Director of the OIEA, warned that vague or
misdirected messages from unknown contacts are often signs of fraud and should
be ignored, blocked, or deleted. In addition to the videos and educational
materials, the campaign features an investing quiz and a new article by Schock
titled “Relationship Investment Scams – Starts With ‘Hello,’ But Could End With
Saying ‘Goodbye’ to Your Money”.
This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.
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