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Ohio's Attorney General Warns About Online Predators on Valentine's Day

photo of Mike DeWine
JO INGLES
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
DeWine says online predators use emotion to scam people.

The attorney general is warning Ohioans about an escalating scam that targets victims with phony romantic relationships.

Attorney General Mike DeWine fears that these so-called romance scams could be on the rise on Valentine’s Day. He says people will create bogus accounts on Facebook and dating websites, draw a person in by pretending they have similar interests, then ask for money.

“It plays on emotion. It plays on desire to meet someone who’s really nice and who can be a companion for them and who they can date.”

DeWine says the scammers usually pose as people who are out of the country such as an oil driller or a member of the military. Then they ask for the target to send money through a wire transfer.

A big tipoff, according to DeWine, is if the person refuses to meet face to face.

Andy Chow is a general assignment state government reporter who focuses on environmental, energy, agriculture, and education-related issues. He started his journalism career as an associate producer with ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus before becoming a producer with WBNS 10TV.