{"id":930,"date":"2020-02-14T10:17:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T15:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=930"},"modified":"2022-01-28T11:43:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T16:43:17","slug":"stay-safe-online-this-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/stay-safe-online-this-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Stay safe online this Valentine&#8217;s Day!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-normal-font-size\"><strong>Looking for love online? The Consumer Assistance Program is here to help you make sure that your personal information and money are secure!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-medium-font-size\" style=\"color:#a30500\"><strong>Romance Scams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How\nit works: <\/strong>The scammer creates a fake profile on a dating site or app. They\nmay also initiate contact through Instagram, Facebook, Words With Friends, or\nGoogle Hangouts. Then, the scammer strikes up a relationship with their victim,\ngains their trust, and maintains sustained contact.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spotting the scam: <\/strong>The scammer spins a story and asks you to\nsend them personal information or money. They may ask you to send gift cards,\nmail cash, or wire them money via Western Union or MoneyGram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What to do: <\/strong>End all communications with the scammer. Block the\nindividual and\/or report them to the website or app company. Do not send money\nor reveal personal information such as: social security number, bank accounts,\ncredit card numbers, photo of your driver\u2019s license, etc. If you have sent\nmoney or given the scammer access to sensitive information, call the Consumer\nAssistance Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Online Romance Imposter Scams | Federal Trade Commission\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jlxWxH0mgU8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Source: Federal Trade Commission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#a3004e\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/match-or-mooch-preventing-romance-scams\/\">For\nmore information about Romance Scams, see our blog post from February 2018.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-medium-font-size\" style=\"color:#a30500\"><strong>Sextortion Emails<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How it works: <\/strong>You receive an email from an unknown source. The message\nclaims that they know your passwords and have planted malware on your computer.\nThey claim that the malware has captured evidence of all your computer activity\n\u2013 including sensitive photos or visits to adult websites. &nbsp;They threaten to share this evidence with all\nof your email or social media contacts. The scammer demands hush money in the\nform of gift cards, Bitcoin, or wire transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spotting the scam: <\/strong>The message might look generic and have numerous typos. They demand that you respond quickly, maybe within 24 hours. The passwords they claim to have appear to be old or may be log-in information you use for a website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What to do: <\/strong>Do not reply to the message. Do not send money or\npersonal information. Change your passwords to ensure your online security,\nespecially if a website you use has recently experienced a data breach. Do not\nclick on any links or attachments on the email. Make sure that your antivirus\nsoftware is up to date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-medium-font-size\" style=\"color:#a30500\"><strong>Adult Website Pop-Ups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How it works: <\/strong>You are visiting an adult website when a pop-up message\nappears. The pop-up might be flashing or include sound. The pop-up may claim to\nbe \u201cWindows Support\u201d or state that \u201cYour computer may have a virus!\u201d It is\ndesigned to pressure the user into a sense of panic. The message might prompt\nyou to call someone for technical assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spotting the scam: <\/strong>Real computer tech support specialists will\nnever ask you to call them in this manner. The pop-up may demand immediate\naction, payment, or prompt you to download something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What to do: <\/strong>Turn off\nyour computer and disconnect from the internet. Make sure that your antivirus\nsoftware is up to date and functioning. If necessary, you may decide to seek\nout assistance from a trusted tech support professional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color\" style=\"color:#a30071\">Remember: some scammers are betting that topics of romance and sex can be sensitive or even embarrassing. Please don\u2019t let these feelings keep you from calling CAP to get help! The reality is that we regularly hear from consumers who have been affected by these scams.<strong> Pick up the phone and give us a call if you feel you may have been scammed:<\/strong> <strong>1-800-649-2424.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/02\/Romance-Scams-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/02\/Romance-Scams-2.jpg 940w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/02\/Romance-Scams-2-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/02\/Romance-Scams-2-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/02\/Romance-Scams-2-358x300.jpg 358w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Contributing Writer: Madison Braz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking for love online? The Consumer Assistance Program is here to help you make sure that your personal information and money are secure! Romance Scams How it works: The scammer creates a fake profile on a dating site or app. They may also initiate contact through Instagram, Facebook, Words With Friends, or Google Hangouts. Then,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/stay-safe-online-this-valentines-day\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Stay safe online this Valentine&#8217;s Day!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[625799,481474,139,505548,5215,520678,625124,625383,484616,482450,625569],"class_list":["post-930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-adult-website","tag-consumer","tag-email","tag-email-extortion","tag-online","tag-pop-up","tag-romance","tag-romance-scam","tag-scam","tag-scams","tag-sextortion","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1227,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions\/1227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}