Romance scams: More than $300m was stolen in romantic scams in the US last year

2/23/21 7:00PM

There's nothing worse than a broken heart. Except maybe a broken heart and an empty bank account. So pour one out for the 32,792 people that reported they were a victim of a "romantic scam" last year in the US. As online dating has gone mainstream (we've written about that here), so have the scammers, armed with a limitless supply of attractive photos from the internet.

‍Lucrative lies

‍Total losses to romance scams topped more than $304 million last year and the FTC report on the subject reveals that "the median amount people sent romance scammers in 2020 using any method of payment was $2,500". That's more than ten times the median loss across all other fraud types, making romantic scams extraordinarily lucrative for scam artists, presumably because it's so much easier to manipulate a human being when romantic feelings and emotions are involved.

The pandemic itself has added an extra dynamic for the scammers to use. COVID is a convenient excuse for why your love interest can't travel to see you or why they may need monetary help.

Interestingly, although older people were more likely to get scammed for more money (median loss of almost $10k for those aged 70+), the number of scams reported by people aged 20-29 more than doubled last year. Swipe safely folks.

Jake Lahut

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The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.