Summary: FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant Regarding Potential Relationship Investment Scams

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

FinCEN Update: FinCEN Reminds Financial Institutions to Remain Vigilant Regarding Potential Relationship Investment Scams

NASCUS Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Department
February 27, 2025

Summary

FinCEN has joined a multi-agency campaign, together with multiple federal, state, and nonprofit organizations, and spearheaded by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Office of Consumer Education and Outreach, in launching a national awareness effort to alert the public to relationship investment scams targeting consumers through wrong-numbered texts, dating apps, and social media.

This social media campaign, “Dating or Defrauding”, will be provide information to consumers on how they can recognize relationship investment scams, what to do if they are affected, and why it is important to share the information to warn others. Throughout the campaign, participating organizations will use the #DatingOrDefrauding hashtag and direct users to helpful resources.

In this latest release, FinCEN reminds financial institutions of previously published resources to assist in identifying and reporting illicit financial activity that may be indicative of these types of relationship and other romance scams:

  • FIN-2023-Alert005 FinCEN Alert on Prevalent Virtual Currency Investment Scam Commonly Known as “Pig Butchering.”
  • FIN-2022-A002 FinCEN Advisory on Elder Financial Exploitation.
  • Financial Trend Analysis: Elder Financial Exploitation: Threat Pattern and Trend Information, June 2022 to June 2023, and
  • Financial Trend Analysis: Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud: Threat Pattern and Trend Information, February to August 2023.

NASCUS Summaries each of the alerts and trend analyses can be found here.

Agencies participating in the campaign include:

  • Federal agencies: CFTC, FBI, FDIC Office of Inspector General, FTC, FinCEN, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
  • State agencies: Arizona Corporation Commission, U.S. Virgin Islands Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, Washington Department of Financial Institutions, and Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.
  • Non-governmental organizations: FINRA and NFA.