Free Valentine's Day cybersecurity cards: Keep your love secure!

They say love is blind. For the thousands of people who fall for romance scams around Valentine's Day each year, there is some truth to it. But what is a romance scam, and how do you know if you or someone you know is being duped?

A romance scam involves fraudsters who contact targets online, pretending to be looking for love. They’ll often pour on the charm to quickly trick you into getting emotionally involved. Then the requests start coming in. The scammer may pretend to be in financial trouble and ask you to send money, especially gift cards. They may encourage you to take out loans and max out credit cards to “help them out.”

Other times, romance scammers may be more direct and try old-fashioned blackmail. They may ask you to send intimate photos or videos. If you do, they'll then threaten to send them to your friends, family or coworkers — unless you pay. 

How to spot romance scams

Although romance scams spike around Valentine’s Day, they can occur throughout the year.

If you find yourself looking for love online, it's important stay stay cyber safe. 

1. Proceed with caution when connecting with someone always "out of town" or from abroad. These fronts can often serve as the perfect excuse for scammers to justify their distanced requests or strange forms of payment like gift cards.
2. Be wary of anyone who makes excuses on why they can't video call or meet you in person. If a few months have passed, and you still haven’t met in person, you have good reason to be suspicious.
3. Take a pause if the relationship is moving very fast, and they claim they need money. Scammers will often work to quickly gain your trust before they make the ask for money or gifts.

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Free Valentine's Day cybersecurity cards

We want you all to be safe, but we also want to do our part to help spread the love (and cybersecurity awareness) this Valentine’s Day. Here are a series of infosec-inspired cards you can download. Send them to your favorite cyber-sweetheart to tell them how you feel!

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