By MOAA Staff

What begins as a seemingly innocent connection – an errant text, or a random social media post – can prove disastrous for your finances … if a scammer successfully gains your trust.

Relationship investment scams may involve a new online friend recommending stocks, cryptocurrency, or any number of seemingly legitimate financial opportunities, but they all have the same starting point – the scammer gains the confidence of the victim and slowly separates them from their nest egg.

This “long con” may begin with a random text that says “Hello” or may start on a dating app, employment app, or social media site, but may soon evolve to a specific recommendation for a “can’t miss” investment opportunity. Be careful with random online contacts, even if they seem friendly. Your best bet is to ignore random texts and direct messages, and don’t pick up the phone if you don’t recognize the number.

These scams are getting more sophisticated every day. Many investors may feel they’re too smart for such trickery, but the numbers don’t lie: Investment scams cost “military consumers” – servicemembers, veterans, and military families – more than $208.1 million in 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission, with the average victim losing $10,000.

[RELATED: True Love, or Total Fraud?]

Some common red flags found in relationship investment scams:

• Unsolicited contact: Scammers may contact you online or on social media platforms, including professional networking, dating, or messaging apps. The message may look like it’s coming from an old friend or seem like an accidental text out of the blue.
  
  
• Building trust: Scammers will take time to build friendship and trust and may eventually try to help you achieve financial goals.
  
  
• The scam: Once a scammer has established a relationship or friendship, they may offer their advice on trading or claim to know about profitable opportunities in crypto assets or other popular investments. Often the investment that is recommended will look legitimate, sometimes on a slick website or mobile app, but the scammer may be using technology to generate fake screenshots, fake trading information, or even fake testimonials from other investors.

Learn more about how to protect yourself at Investor.gov/relationshipscams, and get more advice from MOAA on stopping romance scams, text scams, and other types of fraud.