Stearns Bank has identified requests for gift cards among the payment methods used in romance scams, warning that an online relationship can be used to build trust before seeking money. The bank published its guidance on November 18, 2024 as part of International Fraud Awareness Week.

The alert describes offenders creating false profiles and developing a relationship over weeks, months or longer. They may offer repeated expressions of affection while avoiding an in-person meeting, citing distance, illness or other difficulties.

Once trust has developed, the bank says requests for money can be framed as help with travel, business costs or a family emergency. The requests may become more frequent after an initial payment. Gift cards are listed alongside bank wires, money-transfer apps and cryptocurrency as methods offenders may ask a victim to use.

Stearns also highlights attempts to isolate a person from friends or relatives who might question the relationship. It urges caution about sending money to someone the customer has not met in person and about pressure to advance a relationship faster than they are comfortable with.

For someone who suspects a scam, the bank recommends ending contact with the offender and notifying the financial institution promptly to ask whether payments can be stopped. It also recommends reporting the activity to the Federal Trade Commission through ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the platform where the contact began.

The guidance acknowledges both the financial and emotional harm of romance fraud. Stearns stresses that responsibility lies with the offender and that a victim should not feel ashamed about reporting what happened.