With the influx of New Year’s greetings in your social media and mailboxes, vigilance is crucial, especially with messages from unknown sources. These could be from romance scammers, not long-lost friends. Here’s what to look out for.

Scammers often masquerade as heroes in distant locales. They may claim to be military personnel, diplomats, or medical professionals in regions like Afghanistan, Ukraine, or South Sudan, asserting that they can’t video call or show their faces. However, these claims are false.

These scammers profess love quickly. You may never meet these distant “friends,” but they engage in daily conversations, soon confessing love or proposing marriage. They encourage sharing of secrets and finances. It’s important to recognize these as scams.

They frequently request expensive favors. This may include accepting packages supposedly containing cash or valuables and paying for non-existent shipping fees. Requests could also involve buying new phones or sending gifts and money for non-existent children. These scammers persistently ask for more.

A common tactic is asking for money. Scammers concoct stories about lost airline tickets, visa issues, medical emergencies, or blocked accounts, claiming they need money to visit you. A request for money is a definitive sign of a scam. Similarly, anyone asking for account numbers, gift cards, wire transfers, or payments via apps or cryptocurrency is likely a scammer.

If you suspect someone is a scammer, immediately cease communication. Report the issue to the online app or social media platform and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Stay alert and protect yourself from these deceitful practices.

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Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

Stilton's journalism follows established newsroom standards emphasizing accuracy, verification, fairness, and accountability. Every effort is made to verify information through official records and multiple reliable sources before publication. His reporting is intended to provide readers with timely, well-documented information that helps them understand the issues affecting their communities, while maintaining editorial independence from political parties, government agencies, advocacy organizations, and commercial interests.

Readers can submit story tips, corrections, public records, or media inquiries through the official Shore News Network website or its verified social media channels. Shore News Network welcomes corrections and updates when new information becomes available as part of its ongoing commitment to accurate and transparent journalism.