From retail to online dating: ‘Valentine’s Day’ scams on the rise

EL PASO, Texas -- With Valentine's Day around the corner, love may be in the air. Scammers, however, are hoping to take advantage not just of your emotions but your money too.

The most popular according to several different agencies like the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation: romance scams. They usually start out with someone creating a fake profile online and working towards building a relationship, eventually, asking for money.

"It's very sad, because it's just easy to be taken advantage of when you've gotten invested like this and you're vulnerable," said Marybeth Stevens, president and CEO of El Paso's Better Business Bureau.

If you're looking for love online it might be best to use your head instead of your heart.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Be careful what you post. Scammers can use details you share on your profiles to target you.
• If things are moving too fast or the person you're talking to can't meet off line, that's a red flag.
• Do your research. If you’re skeptical you can do a Google image search of the person.
• The biggest tip never give your personal information or money to someone you’ve never met.

“Naturally, (romance scams are) highly under reported because people are embarrassed and they feel terrible," Stevens said. "But they really shouldn't be. This happens to very intelligent people, very kind people, very good people and it happens all the time and it's just unfortunate."

Also on the rise, “sugar momma" or "sugar daddy" scams, as well as fake online dating websites.

Scammers are also taking advantage on one of the biggest spending days of the year by creative fake retail websites.

Before you buy, here's what you should look out for:

• Deals are too good to be true.
• The seller is asking for you to pay with cash transfer apps or cryptocurrency.
• There's no customer service help online or by phone.
• You can't any reviews or bad reviews for the business you're buying from. Check the BBB's website.

To report a scam you can visit the BBB's Scam Tracker, FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, or FTC's website.