The 87-year-old was defrauded of $2.8 million

Last month, a Florida woman was arrested for masterminding a years-long romantic scam that defrauded an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

According to federal prosecutors, Peaches Stergo met victims on dating websites and swindled them out of $2.8 million over four years. In all, the victim wrote 62 checks - totaling more than $2.8 million - and deposited them into Stergo's bank account.

"Stergo defrauded an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, maliciously depleting his life savings so she could become a millionaire through fraud," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

Ironically, Stergo used the millions of dollars she got from the scam to live a lavish lifestyle. She bought a house, an apartment, a boat and a number of cars, including a Corvette and a Chevrolet Suburban, in a gated community. She also went on expensive trips, stayed in places like the Ritz-Carlton and spent tens of thousands of dollars on expensive meals, coins and bars, jewelry, Rolex watches and designer clothing from stores like Tiffany.

"Pig Kill" scammers cheated nearly 70,000 Americans out of $1.3 billion in 2022

According to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), "pig-killing" scammers cheated nearly 70,000 Americans of $1.3 billion in 2022, with an average loss of $4,400 per person.

According to the FTC, "pig-killing" scammers use dating apps to target people and then send private messages to "close the gap" and build relationships.

FTC survey data shows that about 40 percent of people who were scammed in 2022 were contacted by scammers through social media, and 19 percent said the scam started on an app or website. Popular messaging apps such as Google Chat, Telegram and WhatsApp are then used to keep in touch.

According to the FTC report, "pig kill" scammers often use a specific "playbook" to defraud people.

About 24 percent of "pig-killing" scammers told potential victims that they or a loved one was "sick, injured, or in jail." 18% would like to teach how to invest; Another 18 percent said they were in the military; According to the FTC, 12 percent lied about marrying the victim.

Last year, 24 percent of people reported using gift cards to pay scammers, 19 percent used cryptocurrency and 14 percent used bank wire transfers or payment methods, the FTC said.

According to the FTC, more than 60 percent of case losses came from bank wire transfers and cryptocurrency payments, the latter being the largest amount reported in 2022.

The FTC has summarized ways to spot romantic cheaters:

• No one is going to ask you for help - or insist that you invest - by sending cryptocurrency, providing the number on a gift card, or wire transfer when it's legal. Anyone who does that is a liar.

• If someone tells you to send money to receive a package, it must be a scam.

• Talk to friends or family about new love interests or interests, and take heed if they warn you to be careful.

• Try a reverse image search on your profile picture. If the details don't match, it's a scam.