Top Valentine’s Day Scams and Tips to Avoid Them

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate love, but it’s also a prime opportunity for scammers to target unsuspecting shoppers. According to a study by F-Secure, 7 in 10 people struggle with knowing who to trust online, which makes it easier for scammers to deceive them.

Of course you want to avoid scams this Valentine’s Day. Read on to understand the common scams and our smart consumer tips for the holiday.

Key Insights

• Consumer issues with online floral and gift deliveries are reported as some of the most common online scams. Another common consumer experience with scams includes online romance schemes, gift card scams, and fake deliveries and giveaways.
• Scammers stored more than $1 trillion last year in a variety of offline and online scams.
• You can avoid being scammed by working with trusted retail websites, shopping in person where possible, and avoid clicking links through emails. 

Top Valentine’s Day Scams

As you start shopping for your special someone, exercise caution and be on the lookout to avoid these various Valentine’s Day  scams. 

False advertising

You can expect terrific sales for Valentine’s Day, but sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re going to get, as one Edible Arrangements customer discovered. The customer “ordered a box of chocolate covered strawberries with a “bouquet” of flowers” for Valentine’s Day.

When the order arrived it was “a single fake rose which was horrible” despite charging the customer $50 extra for a full bouquet of flowers. He complained to the store and did not get “a single reply.”

Fake events and tickets

Unfortunately, scammers often trick consumers into fake events and tickets on Valentine's Day. You should always check the venue and the announcement across other sources before making a purchase. If the event description looks suspicious or the website that sells tickets to it doesn’t have proper refund policies upon cancellation, you'd better opt out of this opportunity and look somewhere else.

One college student discovered this the hard way when she bought tickets for a speed boat ride. Unfortunately, as their Groupon review states, when she arrived at the dock, "the tickets didn't appear to the lady that was running the tickets." The employee advised the student to "just call and get my money back," but Groupon had not refunded their money in the two months after requesting the refund, and the reviewer claims:

I used to think Groupon was trustworthy because it's not the first experience I purchase from them, but I am NEVER buying anything on Groupon again!

Hacked gift cards

You might get an excellent offer to buy a gift card for your favorite food chain. As tempting as it might be, those cards are prone to hacking, and the companies may refuse to pay damages. You should make sure the security tape is not removed and look for signs that the card’s packaging is untouched.

For example, in the Mars review #5655507, one customer was charged $49 for a $29 item that she never received. In her post they explain that they “bought an Led rose package…before valentine’s day.” They did not receive the item, but the company took “49.00 dollars from my account” without explanation. The frustrated customer never received the item and is out almost twice as much as they expected to pay. 

Unauthorized data usage

Occasionally, all goes well with a romance purchase and delivery, but trouble follows. Information sales, data leaks, and other problems can create problems with unauthorized data usage for some shoppers. In other cases, clients can be billed for items never received, or noticing unexplained deductions from an account. 

For example, in the Mars review #5655507, one customer was charged $49 for a $29 item that she never received. In her post they explain that they “bought an Led rose package…before valentine’s day.” They did not receive the item, but the company took “49.00 dollars from my account” without explanation. The frustrated customer never received the item and is out almost twice as much as they expected to pay. 

Failed delivery

Issues with delivery of gifts and purchases is one of the biggest Valentine’s Day scams we see at PissedConsumer. Customers order flowers, candies, and gifts for loved ones, but their purchases never arrive, arrive damaged, or are of poor quality. 

A FloraQueen customer explained that they paid for a floral bouquet and teddy bear to be delivered on Valentine’s Day, but the items “came the day after chosen delivery date.” 

They also noted that he “didn’t get the bouquet I paid for…and the teddy bear wasnt the one I ordered Either.” 

Online dating scams

Valentine’s Day can be a lonely day for some folks, so they head online looking for love. However, instead of finding love, they find scammers waiting to take their money after a whirlwind romance.

In an online dating scam, scammers or “catfishers” prey on loneliness by offering romance and saying all of the right things. Bear in mind that catfishers first make connections and then ask for a bit of cash or a gift card to help with an expected expense or other financial favor.

No dating site is immune from scammers. On eHarmony, a paid dating service and website, a customer claims they were “connected to several matches” and she “count tell right off the bat” that two of the matches “were not who they claimed to be.” 

A third claimed she was “the love of his life” despite never meeting in person, which the reviewer claims is “a big clue you’re a liar.” Thankfully the reviewer dodged the scams but is “very disappointed in eHarmony.” 

Romantic getaway scams

Romantic getaway scam involves selling someone a vacation package that isn’t legitimate. This might be fake hotel or airline reservations where an intermediary pockets the cash and you wind up without the reservations you thought you just made. 

This happened to one couple on Valentine’s Day when they were escorted “off the property” of an Extended Stay hotel “after we paid for 3 days,” as shared in their review #5631577. They were “told we committed fraud but had a receipt that our stay was paid for.” The couple booked through Expedia but were told to leave “not even 10hrs after being here” with a receipt for payment and no refund.

Tips to Avoid Valentine’s Day Scams

Conduct thorough research

Don’t buy or sign up in a hurry without doing a bit of research on your own. Visit the company’s website and read the policies to ensure it is reliable. Check online reviews to see if others have flagged the website as problematic or the source of Valentine’s Day scams. 

Be cautious with online expressions of love

Instead of finding love, you might find scammers waiting to take your money after a whirlwind romance. Enjoy the fun of a bit of flirting, but don’t send anyone money if you haven’t met them in person.

Avoid click-through emails

Rather than clicking through the email, simply type in the URL of the website. This will keep you from clicking on fake links or going to sites that are designed to look like real stores. Valentine’s Day scams may design such sites to look like real stores, but they won’t send you anything, but the fraudsters will certainly take your money and your personal information.

Secure your personal information

Your personal and financial data should always be secured online, especially on holidays like Valentine’s Day when scammers are prevalent. Use third-party systems, such as reliable digital wallets or credit cards, to pay for items to add a layer of protection if you’re shopping on unknown websites.

Remain vigilant online

Practice safe ways of shopping (and dating) to thwart online scammers. Before you buy, dig into the customer review resources online to understand what you’re spending money on. Work only on websites worthy of your trust, and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Smart buying is cautious buying, so don’t ruin the holiday fun by moving too quickly and falling for a scam. 

Had a Valentine’s Day customer issue or barely missed getting caught in a scam? Report a scam to share your experience with others to keep them from making the same mistake.