The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) has launched a new public service campaign to raise awareness about relationship investment scams.

These scams often begin with an unsolicited message through social media or text, where a scammer tries to build a personal connection over time. Once trust is established, the scammer convinces the victim to invest in fraudulent opportunities. These schemes are commonly referred to as romance scams, financial grooming scams, or “pig butchering” scams.

CFTC Launches Campaign on Romance Investment Scams

Earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) launched the “Dating or Defrauding?” campaign to tackle the growing number of romance-related investment scams, which resulted in nearly $4 billion in losses last year.

This initiative, led by the CFTC and other agencies, highlights the changing tactics used by scammers, including fake profiles and cryptocurrency schemes, often initiated through dating apps or social media to lure victims into fraudulent investments.

SEC Campaign Warns About Relationship Investment Scams

As part of the campaign, the SEC released two animated videos titled “Don’t Open the Door to Scammers” and “Let’s Talk About Relationship Investment Scams”. The campaign also includes a resource page that explains how the scams work, what signs to watch for, and how to protect against them.

Key advice from the SEC includes avoiding responses to unknown messages, being skeptical of unsolicited investment offers regardless of the sender, cutting off contact if a scam is suspected, and reporting incidents to the SEC.

You may find it interesting at FinanceMagnates.com: 32% of Scams Target Investors on Social Media: AI-Generated Fraud to Rise in 2025.

SEC Highlights Billion-Dollar Losses in Scams

Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda emphasized that investor protection remains central to the SEC’s work, noting that these scams can result in billions of dollars in losses each year.

Lori Schock, Director of the OIEA, warned that vague or misdirected messages from unknown contacts are often signs of fraud and should be ignored, blocked, or deleted. In addition to the videos and educational materials, the campaign features an investing quiz and a new article by Schock titled “Relationship Investment Scams – Starts With ‘Hello,’ But Could End With Saying ‘Goodbye’ to Your Money”.