TikTok influencers and finance watchdogs are warning of scammers posing as a ‘sugar daddy’ or ‘sugar mamma’ and conning targets out of thousands of dollars via dating and cash-transfer apps.
The scammers find targets on Tinder, Bumble or another dating or social media app, presenting themselves as a wealthy suitor before sucking their victims into a scam and draining their bank accounts.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB), which monitors frauds, warned on Friday of the approach, a new twist on the ‘romance scams’ that saw some 70,000 victims lose $1.3 billion in 2022.
‘Don’t fall for the allure of a ‘sugar momma’ or ‘sugar daddy’ promising to pay your bills,’ the group warned.
This TikToker was down $1,000 after their run-in with a fake ‘sugar momma’
Victims of the ‘sugar daddy’ scam have taken to TikTok to warn others how to avoid being duped
‘It’s just a ploy to trick victims out of their hard-earned money.’
TikTokers have for months posted about being duped into thinking they were getting an ‘allowance’ paid into their digital wallet, only to discover later that the money had vanished.
Meanwhile, the scammers had often persuaded them to part with their own money, by buying gift cards, covering a transfer fee, or paying an outstanding bill for them.
Michelle Kimball, a bartender and TikTok influencer, revealed how a handsome man named Joseph with salt-and-pepper hair approached her online and offered to ‘let daddy spoil you with $5,000 weekly.’
Kimball was interested, but took some persuasion. Joseph, who said he lived in Germany, sent her a screenshot of a bank account flush with more than $22 million.
All he wanted in return was affectionate chit-chat, he said.
She passed along her Paypal details to transfer her ‘allowance,’ but was then told she would need to pay $100 in Bitcoin charges to get the funds — the only way she would see the money.
She says she realized it was a con before paying out.
‘Y’all, do not fall for this scam!’ she warned her 43 million followers.
Others have not been so lucky. One victim told BBB they lost $19,500 to a con artist, who mailed them checks that initially appeared to have cleared into their bank account.
The Federal Trade Commission says nearly 70,000 people were duped in a romance scam in 2022
Rom-cons vary enormously, but the scammers have a few stock phrases they use to reel in victims
‘I believed that these checks were legit, and the funds were real,’ said the victim, who is not being named to protect their privacy.
‘I ended up just sending my own personal money to these contacts.’
Scammers increasingly present themselves as a ‘sugar momma’ or ‘sugar daddy’ and offer to pay an allowance of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars — and all they want in return is affectionate online banter, BBB says.
Next, the scammer sends targets a check, or pretends to transfer money into their bank account or a peer-to-peer payment service, such as Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, Apple Pay, or the Cash App.
In return, they often ask for a favor — buying a gift card, transferring part of the money to a needy friend, or donating money to a charity that turns out to be fake.
In some cases, the victim is asked to pay a cryptocurrency transaction fee to get the funds.
After they’ve parted with their own cash, it emerges that the benefactor’s payment never materialized, and the con is revealed.
The fraudster can achieve this in several ways, including through old-fashioned ‘bouncing’ bank checks.
Some digital wallet apps take days to process funds, and the sender can cancel money that had registered as ‘pending.’
Other times, scammers use stolen credit cards to send money through a transfer app, which is later removed from the account.
Victims of romance cons each lose $4,400, according to a FTC average
The TikToker known as Zulez Zenpai says ‘be careful, my boys.’
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that nearly 70,000 people were duped in romance scams in 2022 — each one of them losing $4,400.
That added up to a staggering $1.3 billion.
About a third of them involved dodgy crypto transactions; more than a quarter used bank transfers.
Web-users are advised to carry out basic research about those who approach them on dating sites.
Oftentimes, they use fake photos that appear elsewhere online, and can be traced through a reverse image search.
They are also urged to ask questions of their supposed benefactors, and to never share any personal finance information or send any of their own funds.
That’s the message shared by the TikToker known as Zulez Zenpai, who recently warned about ‘sugar mamma scammers going on out here.’
‘Be careful, my boys,’ he said.
‘You’ll block one, and then another one will show up with a whole other name, different storyline and everything, and you’ll block that one.’
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