{"id":98177,"date":"2026-02-13T06:14:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=98177"},"modified":"2026-01-31T06:17:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:17:46","slug":"fraud-watch-credit-repair-scams-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=98177","title":{"rendered":"Fraud Watch- The Rise of Friendship Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be looking for love to be targeted by a relationship scam. Increasingly, perpetrators take the friendship route, building deep connections over time, starting by claiming they share your interests, experiences, or struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may initiate contact by commenting on your social media posts, reaching out through direct messages, or even sending what seems like a text sent by mistake. Over time, they earn your trust before asking for money or pitching an investment opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because these relationships appear platonic, they can be harder to recognize. Red flags include pressure to move conversations to encrypted apps and eventually urgent requests for money or encouragement to invest in cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it a habit to talk to a friend or family member when new relationships bloom. Together, you may be able to see signs of a scam that you couldn\u2019t see alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More Topic Resources<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org\/fraudwatchnetwork<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

AARP Fraud Watch Network<\/h2><\/div>

Need a scam prevention speaker<\/a> for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t have to be looking for love to be targeted by a relationship scam. Increasingly, perpetrators take the friendship route, building deep connections over time, starting by claiming they share your interests, experiences, or struggles. They may initiate contact by commenting on your social media posts, reaching out through direct messages, or even sending … Continue reading “Fraud Watch- The Rise of Friendship Scams”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,218],"tags":[508,506,272,507],"post_folder":[696],"class_list":["post-98177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-service","category-resources-for-granges-and-grangers","tag-aarp-fraud-watch","tag-fraud-alert","tag-grange-communication","tag-scam-alert"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Walter Boomsma","author_link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?author=2122"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"You don\u2019t have to be looking for love to be targeted by a relationship scam. Increasingly, perpetrators take the friendship route, building deep connections over time, starting by claiming they share your interests, experiences, or struggles. They may initiate contact by commenting on your social media posts, reaching out through direct messages, or even sending…","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1arC1-pxv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98178,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98177\/revisions\/98178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98177"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=98177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}