Cybercriminals Cause Heartbreak on Valentine’s Day
Many people look for love or companionship online, and Valentine’s Day presents the perfect opportunity for digital crooks to take advantage of vulnerable lonely hearts.
A report from Bitdefender found Valentine’s Day-themed spam has dramatically spiked in recent days, using the promise of love, discounts on merchandise and gifts from popular brands as lures.
The study found 83% of Valentine’s Day-themed spam emails received between January 22 and February 8 were marked as scams, and spam volume spiked on February 6 at 33%, up from just 6% the previous day.
The pool of potential victims has also increased considerably since the beginning of the pandemic when millions of individuals (who were at home more frequently) turned to online dating apps or platforms in search of a potential romantic partner.
Malicious actors also appear to be targeting primarily English-speaking markets, with the U.S. the main target of spam campaigns, followed by Ireland and the United Kingdom.
From the cybercriminal’s point of view, taking the time to make a legitimate-looking online dating platform or online retailer promoting a “too-good-to-be-true” Valentine’s Day offer often gives them just the right leverage for an unwary consumer to take the bait and click.
The 2023 Valentine’s Day spam campaigns include an assortment of traditional scams ranging from online dating opportunities, gift cards and discounts for romance-themed goods.
“Valentine’s week is peak season for catfishing trusting individuals who want another chance at finding love,” explained Alina Bizga, security analyst at Bitdefender. “Single people tend to feel even more lonely during this holiday as they are bombarded with commercials or billboards celebrating romance and connection.”
That means if an opportunity bearing even a passing resemblance to love comes their way, they might get caught in a romance scammers’ net.
Bizga pointed out that the end goal for these campaigns is always money.
“They will make excuses for why they cannot meet in person with their victims and attempt to convince them to send money,” she says. “They might say that one of their relatives is critically ill or in jail, or that they have car problems or are about to become homeless.”
Other scammers are all about “helping” you become rich, promoting guaranteed investments in cryptocurrency.
“Overly trusting victims who share sensitive photos or videos are even more at risk, as the scammers will use the information to extort individuals by threatening to reveal lewd pictures online or to their friends and family,” Bizga cautioned.
Scammers continue to roll out recycled Valentine’s Day-themed campaigns year after year.
While to the trained eye, these scam emails may not seem convincing, the fact that cybercriminals continue to use them on consumers proves that these techniques still work—resulting in fresh victims.
“Using your common sense and not letting emotions get the best of you is crucial when dealing with both new individuals you meet online or interacting with unsolicited correspondence,” Bizga said.
She recommended using reputable websites and platforms and doing research on any new people who add you or contact you via social media.
“Consumers should stop oversharing information about their personal lives on social media so they don’t become a target,” she noted.
Scammers will go online to hunt for their next victim, spending time to look over publicly available social media accounts to create a profile of the individual they want to con.
“Consumers should also be extremely suspicious if their love interest begins making up excuses for not showing up on their first date or asks you for money,” Bizga added.
Valentine’s Day isn’t the only holiday where businesses and consumers should be on high alert for cybercrime—malicious actors are also extremely active during the holiday season in December, perpetrating phishing, scraping, password attacks and zero-day exploits.
Image Source: Photo by Marah Bashir on Unsplash
