“Losing the love was worse than losing the money,” said Kleinart, 70, who lost tens of thousands to a romance scam over several months. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received over 64,000 romance scams reports that translated into $1.14 billion in reported losses. Romance scams often target lonely and isolated individuals, according to Will Maxson, assistant director of the Division of Marketing Practices at the FTC. Specifically for older people, romance scams are among the most common scams, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP. However, she noted people from all ages can fall for a romance scam.

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Persons: Kate Kleinart, ”, Kleinart, Will Maxson, “, —, Kathy Stokes, Genevieve Waterman, Waterman, ” Waterman, scammers, it’s, Stokes, Hey, ” Stokes, Charles Schwab Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, FTC, AARP, National Council, Aging, Associated Press, Charles, Charles Schwab Foundation, Inc, AP Locations: Spain