It’s not especially romantic to think about romance scams, but February is the perfect time for a refresher on how scammers want to use your heart to steal your money. You might think that these scams will only happen on online dating sites, but they occur on social media sites, online games, chat rooms, and more so it’s important to recognize the warning signs of romance scams. The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, has a list of things to watch for when interacting with new friends online.

• Scammers pretend to be heroes in faraway places. Scammers will pose as military personnel, a diplomat, or volunteer with a good will organization like UNICEF. They will have a reason for never showing their face and will eventually ask for money or gift cards.

• Scammers say they’re in love but won’t be able to meet in person. They will also declare their love too quickly and encourage you to share your banking information and more with them.

• Scammers ask for expensive favors. Requesting costly favors, such as replacing allegedly broken phones, purchasing gifts for their supposed children, or soliciting various gift cards.

• Scammers always ask for money. They will want money to visit you, but then have an emergency that prevents them from arriving and requires more money to resolve.

Remember, anyone that asks you to send your banking information, cryptocurrency, money through a payment app, or gift cards while pulling on your heart strings is a scammer.

For more information on Romance Scams or how to report fraud,

just visit the FTC’s website.