Romance scams are surging ahead of Valentine’s Day, with hundreds of thousands of malicious links and fake dating app downloads blocked in just the past mo

Learn the 8 most common online scams and practical internet fraud prevention strategies to protect your money, data, and digital identity in 2026.

The FBI is reporting record-high numbers of what they are calling "romance scams," people online pretending to be a potential love interest in an attempt to steal your money.

Online dating can be challenging enough, but scammers are using artificial intelligence to sound more charming and believable. Americans lost more than $672 million from romance scams in 2024, according to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Chances are you’ve received a call, email, or text message from a scammer before, even if you didn’t realize it. Scammers often reach out to people with seemingly legitimate concerns. However, they quickly shift their focus to asking for money,

Romance scams are among the most emotionally damaging forms of cyber crime because they combine carefully manufactured intimacy with financial theft—the scammers go after your heart, and then your wallet.