North Dakota: The FBI Has An Important New Valentine’s Day Warning

Valentine's Day is one day each year when we can be romantic and celebrate love. Many North Dakotans enjoy celebrating this day, while others are single and choose to ignore it.

As each day passes, we rely more and more on social media, and there is still a concern, especially around this holiday. FBI field offices all over the country have been issuing warnings to think twice before trusting a new online relationship. During the month of February, scammers prey on people just looking for love.

According to the FBI website, romance and confidence scams are some of the most financially damaging online scams, with victims all over the country having lost approximately $735 million dollars since 2023.

North Dakota residents are not immune to these scams, as a matter of fact North Dakota Insurance and Securities Department issued a statement, saying romance scams are on the rise.

(Also Read: North Dakota's New Favorite Bedroom Position For 2026)

The problem with these scams is that, after someone is scammed, they're often too embarrassed to report the crime, allowing scammers to get away with it.

Here are a few things the FBI website says you can do to identify scammers and protect yourself.

• Use a reverse image search on the person's photo.
• Look at the person's friend list; you can learn a lot there.
• Take it as a huge red flag if they avoid in-person or video chats
• Do not buy them gift cards, cryptocurrency, or send anyone you haven't seen or met money.
• Take it as a red flag if they rush an emotional connection.
• Take it as a red flag if they claim to work overseas or far from North Dakota.
• If you're ever unsure, confide in people you know about the situation.

The website lists several other things to look out for. Look, this isn't an expert's guide to finding and catching criminals, but it's a reminder to be careful. We'd hate to see you on a new episode of MTV's Catfish.