1
This ecosystem includes payment networks, processors, facilitators, gateways, money services businesses and merchant banks.
2
In fact, the online dating service market is expected to reach $ 8.29 billion this year, with the majority of the revenue being generated in the U. S. Offline dating services were not included in this figure. Please see:“ Online Dating ― Worldwide,” Statista, https:// www. statista. com / outlook / emo / dating-services / online-dating / worldwide
3
Neither the Financial Action Task Force nor FinCEN officially list the dating industry as high-risk.
4
Merchant category codes are determined by the International Organization for Standardization and are used by payment networks and providers to determine the fees that should be charged to businesses based on their risk levels. Dating services fall under MCC 7273, which is a Tier 1 category associated with heightened risk of illegal activity, reputational harm and consumer disputes. Please see: Rolands Selakovs,“ The ultimate guide to merchant category codes( MCCs) and why they matter,” The Payment Association, March 10, 2025, https:// thepaymentsassociation. org / article / the-ultimate-guide-to-merchant-category-codes-mccs-and-why-they-matter / and“ ISO: Global standards for trusted goods and services,” International Organization for Standardization, https:// www. iso. org / home. html
5
Financial crimes include, but are not limited to fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, tax evasion, bribery and corruption, market abuse and insider trading, and embezzlement. Please see:“ Financial Crime: Main Types, Consequences, + Real-Life Examples,” Unit 21, https:// www. unit21. ai / fraud-aml-dictionary / financial-crime
6
“ Dating or Defrauding? Protect Yourself Against Romance Scams With Help From the Government,” USAgov, https:// connect. usa. gov / dating-or-defrauding;“ FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant Regarding Potential Relationship Investment Scams,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, February 26, 2025, https:// www. fincen. gov / news / news-releases / fincen-reminds-financial-institutions-remain-vigilant-regarding-potential
7
“ Zoosk Live,” Zoosk, https:// help. zoosk. com / hc / en-us / articles / 4402057167250-Zoosk-Live
8
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides liability protections for online platforms concerning user-generated content. It is intended for platforms to moderate user content, without penalization, so long as it is done in good faith( the Good Samaritan protection). However, it does not require platforms to do so, since they do not own user-generated content, i. e., they are not the“ publishers or legal speakers.” Please see:“ Communications Decency Act, 47 U. S. C. § 230,” Columbia University, https:// www. columbia. edu /~ mr2651 / ecommerce3 / 2nd / statutes / CommunicationsDecencyAct. pdf
9
“ Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Role in Romance Scam and Money Laundering Scheme,” United States Attorney’ s Office, June 26, 2025, https:// www. justice. gov / usao-ma / pr / nigerian-national-pleads-guilty-role-romance-scamand-money-laundering-scheme
10
Scott Stump,“ Women looking for love say men tricked them into being‘ money mules’,” Today, June 21, 2021, https:// www. today. com / money / women-looking-love-say-they-were-tricked-being-money-mules-t222936
11
Emma Fletcher,“ Romance scammers’ favorite lies exposed,” Federal Trade Commission, February 9, 2023, https:// www. ftc. gov / news-events / data-visualizations / data-spotlight / 2023 / 02 / romance-scammers-favorite-lies-exposed
12
Wendy Battles,“ February Cybersecurity Awareness Tip: Spot romance scams & safeguard your heart,” Yale Information Security, https:// cybersecurity. yale. edu / monthly-tip / february-cybersecurityawareness-tip-spot-romance-scams-safeguard-your-heart #:~: text = The % 20Facts, up % 20our % 20cyber % 20 know % 2Dhow
13
This analysis specifically focused on financial exploitation of the elderly; the covered period was June 2022 to June 2023. Please see:“ Elder Financial Exploitation: Threat Pattern & Trend Information,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, April 2024, https:// www. fincen. gov / sites / default / files / shared / FTA _ Elder _ Financial _ Exploitation _ 508Final. pdf
14
“ Pig butchering ― How to spot and report the scam,” Department of Financial Protection & Innovation, CA. gov, https:// dfpi. ca. gov / news / insights / pig-butchering-how-to-spot-and-report-the-scam /;“ FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant Regarding Potential Relationship Investment Scams,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, February 26, 2025, https:// www. fincen. gov / news / news-releases / fincen-reminds-financial-institutionsremain-vigilant-regarding-potential
15
“ Operation Level Up,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, https:// www. fbi. gov / how-we-can-help-you / victim-services / national-crimes-and-victim-resources / operation-level-up
16
Brian Laverdure,“‘ Pig butchering’ crypto scams a growing concern,” Independent Community Bankers of America, April 11, 2024, https:// www. icba. org / newsroom / blogs / main-street-matters / 2024 / 04 / 11 / pig-butcheringcrypto-scams-a-growing-concern;“ Operation Level Up,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, https:// www. fbi. gov / how-we-can-help-you / victim-services / national-crimes-and-victim-resources / operation-level-up
17
According to FinCEN,“ The term‘ spoofed’ refers to domain spoofing and involves a cyberattack in which fraudsters or hackers seek to persuade individuals that a web address or email belongs to a legitimate and generally trusted company, when in fact it links the user to a false site controlled by a cybercriminal.”
18
Funds are sent through spoofed domain addresses that the scammers have provided. Please see:“ FinCEN Alert on Prevalent Virtual Currency Investment Scam Commonly Known as‘ Pig Butchering’,” Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, September 8, 2023, https:// www. fincen. gov / sites / default / files / shared / FinCEN _ Alert _ Pig _ Butchering _ FINAL _ 508c. pdf
19
“ Avoid Scams: Investment Fraud and Pig Butchering,” United States Secret Service, https:// www. secretservice. gov / investigations / investmentfraud-pigbutchering
20
“ Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, https:// www. fbi. gov / how-we-can-help-you / victim-services / national-crimes-and-victim-resources / cryptocurrency-investment-fraud
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