Valentine's Day is all about celebrating love.
Unfortunately, there are people out there looking to take advantage of that.
Romance scammers use Valentine's day to target victims, the FBI says these types of scams surge around January and February because they know people are looking for relationships.
We talked with Jonathan Brouse, Vice President of Direct Consumer Lending Mountain America Credit Union, for some red flags to watch for.
The scammers try to create a bond with a person, and once they know you trust them, they're going to start asking you for money.
Seniors are often targeted because they tend to be more trusting and polite.
One red flag is if the person you're talking to on a dating app or social media site wants to quickly start to communicate directly.
Another red flag, if the person makes excuses to not meet in person.
Jonathan says never send money to someone you have only communicated with online or by phone.
Scammers may ask you for money over and over and then try to make you feel bad or even threaten you if you refuse to pay.
If you do think you or a loved one has been a victim you are urged to report it to the Internet Crimes Complaint Center.
You can find more information at macu.com/education/fraud-prevention.
