Valentine’s Day is here, but it may not be all roses and chocolates. This season of love, scammers may be taking advantage of the blindness that love causes to rip you off. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is giving out tips to prevent scammers from taking advantage of weary online daters.

In most cases, these criminals and scammers pretend to be love interest online through apps and dating sites or over the phone, then slowly collect information or outright ask for money. Most of the time, they ask money for plane tickets to finally meet and then come up with excuses why they weren’t able to meet.

Tips from the Better Business Bureau to avoid romantic hackers:

• A huge red flag for people seeking relationships online is any request for funds. A good rule of thumb is to never send money to someone you've never met in person. Another good rule of thumb is to remember that someone who cares about you will not ask you to place yourself in financial jeopardy for them or put you in a difficult position.
• People who ask to talk or chat on an outside email or messaging service. Oftentimes, this allows fraudsters to perpetrate fraud without the dating site having a record of the encounter.
• Anyone who declares their love for you without meeting you or knowing very little about you.
• Individuals who prefer to communicate solely via email or over the phone. This is often the sign of someone who has a need or wishes to keep their true identity hidden.
• Claims that a person cannot meet because they are traveling, stationed or working abroad. Dishonest people use distance as a tool and a means of keeping people at arm's length. Scammers will also sometimes falsely claim a military affiliation in an effort to gain people's trust.
• Requests for money or credit card information. Any and all requests for loans or cash advances should be refused and prompt an immediate assessment of the person you're communicating with. Red flags don't come any bigger than this.
• Someone who asks for sensitive personal information. Remember, a scammer's goal might also be to steal your identity. Be protective of your personal information and watch out for suspicious emails that could have links which contain malware designed to compromise your computer.
   

The mission of Better Business Bureau is to be the leader in building marketplace trust by promoting, through self-regulation, the highest standards of business ethics and conduct, and to instill confidence in responsible businesses through programs of education and action that inform, assist and protect the general public. We are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact the BBB at bbb.org or 651-699-1111, toll-free at 1-800-646-6222.