$800,000 Online Dating Site Scam Reported By Manalapan Resident

MANALAPAN, NJ — A 66-year-old Manalapan resident has reported a major loss of money in an online dating scam, police said.

The resident went to police June 27 to report being defrauded of $800,000 through the online scam, police said.

Deputy Chief Leonard Maltese said the department could not provide more details at this time because the matter is being investigated.

Patrolman Jeffrey Emslie handled the report, which is pending further investigation.

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission information site on scams, "romance scams," also known as online dating scams, are among the most common scams on the internet and are growing in number.

People reported a record $547 million in losses to romance scams in 2021. That’s up about 80 percent from the reports the FTC got in 2020, the FTC says.

In 2021, people reported paying romance scammers more with gift cards than with any other payment method. The 2021 reports also showed that cryptocurrency payments were the most costly, according to the site.

Romance scams begin innocently enough. You meet someone special on a dating website or app. Soon they want to email, call, or message you off the platform, the FTC says.

"They say it’s true love, but they live far away — maybe for work or because they’re in the military. Then they start asking for money. Maybe it’s for a plane ticket to visit you. Or emergency surgery. Or something else urgent," the site says.

The site offers a variety of information, but the bottom line, the FTC says, is to never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met in person.