Valentine's Day: Meta Warns of Romance Scams on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Valentine’s Day 2025 is here, and as people celebrate love and connection, Meta (the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is warning users about the rise of romance scams on its platforms. Scammers are taking advantage of the love-filled season by using fake profiles to trick people, often pretending to be military personnel, celebrities, or even matchmaking agencies.

Meta has announced that these scammers send messages to a large number of people at once, hoping to find someone who responds. Once they’ve gained the target's trust, the scammer may start asking for money or suggest a fake investment opportunity. Meta is actively working to fight these scams by removing fake accounts and introducing new safety tools to protect users.

According to the company’s blog post, their automated systems can detect malicious accounts and remove them, but they also issue warnings to users if something seems suspicious. These warnings encourage users to be cautious, especially if someone’s account shows signs of suspicious activity. Meta is also collaborating with experts and law enforcement to tackle scams on a global scale.

On Facebook Messenger, Meta has launched a new Safety Notice feature to alert users when they are chatting with an account that shows signs of unusual activity or when the person might be based in a different country. The company is also testing similar warnings for teenagers on Instagram and plans to expand these alerts to more users soon. For WhatsApp users, Meta has added a feature that allows them to silence calls from unknown contacts, helping prevent unwanted contact from potential scammers.

How to Spot Romance Scams and Stay Safe

Meta has shared some helpful tips for identifying and avoiding romance scams:

Fake Profiles: Scammers often create fake profiles on social media platforms, pretending to be military personnel, celebrities, or even dating agencies.

Building Trust: These scammers usually start by sending messages to many people at once. They pretend to be lonely and looking for love. Over time, they build trust and may ask for money, claiming it is for an emergency, travel expenses, or gifts.

Common Scams: Some of the most common romance scams involve:

Fake Military Personnel: Scammers pose as members of the US military, saying they are deployed and lonely. They often ask for money through wire transfers or gift cards.

Fake Celebrities: Some scammers pretend to be famous people, asking for money to buy gifts or help them out of financial trouble.

Fake Matchmaking Agencies: Fraudsters posing as dating agencies often claim to have wealthy individuals they can connect you with, but they ask for a fee upfront.

Private Messaging Apps: Scammers often try to move conversations to private messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal to avoid detection. They may also request money through wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, which is a major red flag.

Be Cautious: If you ever feel something is off during an online conversation, take the time to verify the person’s identity before getting further involved. Trust your instincts and be cautious when interacting with strangers online.

By staying aware and following these simple steps, you can keep yourself safe from romance scams this Valentine’s Day and beyond.