4 Valentine's Day Scams to Avoid

Valentine's Day is a time of love. However, it’s also an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of people who are celebrating this romantic holiday.

Whether you're looking for the perfect gift, planning a special date, or connecting with someone new, the Better Business Bureau is cautioning consumers to be aware of four common Valentine's Day scams. Here's what to know to protect yourself from these schemes.

1. Romance scams

Romance scams can happen at any time of the year but can peak around Valentine’s Day when single people are looking for love. Con artists create fake personas and connect with people online through dating websites and social media sites. So, if you’re searching for love, be wary of anyone who meets these criteria.

How to Spot Romance Scams:

• They seem almost too good to be true and quickly claim deep feelings for you, even though you've just met.
• They claim to be working or living overseas or unable to meet in person.
• They promise to meet in-person but come up with excuses not to meet.
• They claim that there is some sort of urgent problem or emergency and that they need money.
• They ask for funds to be sent by wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other unusual forms of payment..

How to Avoid Romance Scams:

• Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.
• Be careful what you share on social media sites because scammers can use that information to target you.
• Do a reverse image search of any photos a potential romantic partner provides by going to images.google.com, clicking on the camera icon and uploading the image to see if there is more than one name associated with the image.
• Ask yourself whether the story you’re being told makes sense. For example, why would a doctor working overseas not be able to afford to pay for a plane ticket to visit you?
• Talk to someone you trust, such as a family member or someone in the financial services industry who is familiar with romance scams, if someone you’ve met online is asking you for money.

2. Fake florist scams

Fake online florists set up shop around Valentine’s Day to take advantage of people rushing to buy flowers at the last minute for their sweethearts. These phony florists tend to advertise that they can deliver orders on time at a reasonable price. When consumers place orders through these sites, they receive damaged flowers, don’t receive flowers on time or don’t even receive their orders, according to reports BBB has received. And the online florists refuse to provide refunds or don’t respond to consumer complaints..

How to Spot Fake Florists:

• The florist is selling arrangements at much lower prices than other online florists—especially around Valentine’s Day when flower prices tend to increase.
• There aren’t any reviews of the florist beyond what you can find on the florist’s site, or all reviews are bad.
• The florist’s site doesn’t have an https:// or padlock in the url indicating that it’s secure, or there are typos, grammatical errors, punctuation errors and awkward phrasing on the site.

How to Avoid Fake Florists:

• Always order flowers from reputable florists by reading customer reviews and visiting BBB.org to find out whether they have earned the BBB stamp of approval for ethical business practices and customer satisfaction.
• Don’t click on links in unsolicited emails, text messages or social media posts for special offers on flowers. Those links could take you to fake sites.
• Review customer service policies on online florist sites to learn about their pricing structure, delivery policies and fees, and refund policies. If you can’t find this information, it’s a red flag.
• Steer clear of florists that request payments through wire transfers, payment apps such as Zelle or other methods that would make it difficult to get your money back. Pay with a credit card, which provides more protections against fraud.

3. Wrong number scams

If you get a friendly text message that appears to have been sent to the wrong number, it could be a scam. BBB has received reports from consumers who have received messages from strangers who continue to send messages even after being told they have reached the wrong number. The messages vary, but a common one that is currently circulating claims to be from a woman looking to meet in person after connecting on a dating site, such as Tinder.

How to Spot Wrong Number Scams

• The messages in wrong number scams can vary, but a common one that is currently circulating claims to be from a woman looking to meet in person after connecting on a dating site, such as Tinder.
• If you reply that the person has reached the wrong number, the scammer will continue to send messages and possibly photos of a scantily clad woman.
• Wrong number scams will try to get you to sign up for a dating or other site or will ask for your personal information.

How to Avoid Wrong Number Scams

• Don’t reply to text messages from strangers.
• Report messages from unknown senders as junk to prevent them from contacting you again, then delete the messages..
• Do not share any personal or financial information in response to a text message from someone you don’t know.

4. Fake retail sites

When shopping for Valentine’s gifts, watch out for fake stores that look legitimate or are replicas of actual retail sites. Online shopping scams typically result in consumers paying for items and receiving damaged or counterfeit goods or nothing at all. In some cases, scammers steal debit or credit card information that shoppers provide then use it to make fraudulent purchases.

How to Spot Fake Retail Sites:

• Imposter sites tend to offer items at much lower prices than other retailers.
• Don’t trust retail sites that are missing a padlock and “https://” in the URL, customer service contact information, or refund and exchange policies. Misspelled words, incorrect grammar and poor website design also are red flags.
• Unsolicited emails or text messages from retailers with links for special offers or coupons could lead to fake sites.
• Social media ads for deeply discounted items could direct shoppers to imposter sites or questionable retailers.

How to Avoid Fake Retail Sites

• Stick with online retailers you know, and check out companies you’re not familiar with by searching for their names along with the word “reviews,” “scam” or “complaint.”
• Double check the site url to make sure the name of the retailer is spelled correctly, that there aren’t any additional words in the url, such as “discount,” and that it doesn’t have a .shop, .store or .vip domain—which scammers use when creating fake sites.
• Avoid using broad search terms, such as “jewelry deals,” when looking for gift ideas. This is more likely to generate sponsored results that could lead to questionable sites.
• Read refund and exchange policies on retailers’ sites to ensure that you can get your money back if you’re unhappy with a purchase.
• Use credit cards to make payments because they offer more fraud protections.
• Monitor your accounts after making online purchases to ensure your card information hasn’t been compromised.