U.S. prosecutors have warned of Valentine’s Day romance scams utilizing crypto after circumstances price victims hundreds of thousands.
Prosecutors within the U.S. state of Ohio have issued a public warning urging People to look at for love scams tied to cryptocurrency as they have a good time Valentine’s Day.
The alert drew consideration to an increase in emotionally pushed fraud circumstances the place victims are persuaded to ship digital belongings after forming on-line relationships.
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The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of Ohio said criminals usually strategy targets via courting apps, social platforms, or textual content messages, then construct belief for weeks or months earlier than requesting cash for fabricated emergencies or investments.
In line with U.S. Lawyer David M. Toepfer, scammers “prey on belief and emotion,” they usually “are usually not in search of love—they’re in search of cash.” He added that such criminals usually deal with older adults and emotionally weak people.
His workplace additionally cited current prosecutions and investigations, together with a December 2025 case the place authorities charged Frederick Kumi, a Ghanaian nationwide accused of serving to run a romance fraud community that allegedly took greater than $8 million from aged victims since 2023. Per investigators, the group used AI instruments to create false identities and keep convincing conversations earlier than requesting cash. Kumi was arrested in Ghana and is dealing with fees together with wire fraud conspiracy and cash laundering conspiracy.
One other case concerned an Ohio girl who lost about $663,000 after a stranger contacted her via a “mistaken quantity” textual content. The fraudster later guided her via opening accounts on Crypto.com and Coinbase, then satisfied her to switch funds to a faux funding platform.
Fortuitously, detectives from the FBI traced a part of the stolen cash to cryptocurrency wallets and seized greater than $8.2 million in USDT with assist from Tether.
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Current trade analysis suggests these crimes match a broader sample, as proven in a January 2026 report from blockchain safety agency PeckShield, which estimated that crypto scams and hacks price customers greater than $4 billion in 2025, with about $1.37 billion tied to scams alone.
The corporate stated losses from scams rose about 64% from the earlier 12 months, usually involving customized impersonation techniques geared toward high-value targets.
The Ohio prosecutors have advisable a number of ways in which individuals can shield themselves from romance tricksters, together with reverse picture searches on profile images, skepticism towards anybody who refuses to fulfill in individual, and a tough rule towards sending cryptocurrency, reward playing cards, or wire transfers to individuals met on-line.
In addition they suggested victims to protect all communications and monetary information, then file experiences with the FBI’s Web Crime Grievance Middle. Moreover, the Nationwide Elder Fraud Hotline operates each day to information older adults via the reporting course of.
In line with the officers, for many who might have despatched crypto, time issues, since regulation enforcement can freeze stolen belongings, however provided that wallets are recognized earlier than funds transfer via mixers or abroad exchanges.
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