Illinois Residents Lost $36 Million Because Of This Scam

Illinoisans are throwing away all their money just for love, and unfortunately, most of these people are still single today. Go figure.

There's a group of investment fraud lawyers who researched how much money was lost from romance scams in every state.  Illinois made the top ten list of states who took the most losses, and it's jaw-dropping.

We all want love—well, majority of us.  Sometimes, finding the right person, or a person at all, is a really long process and it gets exhausting.  Exhausting to the point you want to give up online dating!

Well, lots of Illinoisans haven't given up on love, they've started paying for love.

Illinois Residents Lost $36 Million Because Of Romance Scams

Between 2022 and 2023, $36 million dollars total has been lost in Illinois from romance scams alone.  $17.7M in 2022 and $18.9M in 2023.

We want to believe everyone in the world has your best interest in mind, but that's not always the case.  When you're at your most vulnerable looking for "the one", you might just do anything they ask to keep them in your life.

Anything, including sending them money.

Related: Don’t Fall For These 5 Cold-Hearted Romance Scams In Illinois

California, Florida, Texas, New York, Arizona, Washington, and Virginia took an even bigger loss than Illinois.  The numbers are truly shocking.

California: $258M

Florida: $116M

Texas: $114M

New York: $63M

Arizona: $47M

Washington: $40M

Virginia: $38M

Scammers will take full advantage of your emotional well-being and take every last penny from you, which is so, so horrible.

Know the signs, how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of romance scams and find REAL love without being a human ATM to fund someone else's life.

KNOW THE SIGNS OF A ROMANCE SCAM

• Your online partner asks you to send them any amount of money right away
• Their pictures look too perfect, they have no friends list online and no photos with friends or family
• They refuse to meet you in person or video chat
• You're asked to wire money or send gift cards to them

If you've ever met someone online and they seem "too perfect", proceed with caution.