All those chocolates, flowers and jewelry purchased for Valentine's Day can really add up!

In fact, consumers like you are expected to spend a total of $25.9 billion on Valentine's Day this year, up 8% over last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Whenever there's a big holiday, there are scammers waiting to take advantage of you. We love our members here at CommonWealth One and we don't want to see you get hurt!

Here are some of the ways scammers are taking advantage of you this month.

What's a Sweetheart Scam?

Are you dating online? Be careful! A sweetheart scam occurs when you're swept off your feet by a romantic interest who asks you to send them money to visit you or give them access to your account for a seemingly-legitimate reason. Often, once these fraudsters have your money, they "ghost" you and you never hear from them again. Broken heart, broken trust. It's an expensive lesson.

Some scammers are even starting to combine cryptocurrency with romance scams. Be wary if your love interest asks you to download the latest, coolest cryptocurrency app and start investing your hard-earned money in crypto! Chances are your money is going right into their pocket and you'll never see a return on that so-called investment.

Puppy Love Scams

Valentine's Day and the spring are popular times to get a puppy! Who can resist those big brown eyes, fluffy fur and wagging tail?

Sometimes, scammers will offer puppies for sale through a website or through social media. You just have to send a deposit or the full payment — often hundreds of dollars — to reserve your puppy, which you can pick up "in a few weeks". But often, the puppy doesn't actually exist and you've sent money to a scammer. To protect yourself, visit your local animal shelter. There are lots of dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals who would be thrilled to come home with you and love you for the rest of their life.

Grandparent Scams

There’s no denying that there is a special bond between a grandparent and grandchild. What grandparent can refuse a grandchild in need? Scammers will capitalize on anything to pull off another ruse. Grandparent scams are not new, but they have gotten a lot more sophisticated in recent years, so they can be difficult to spot. There are several variations – the legal trouble, the medical trouble, and the international trouble grandparent scam. In each one, the caller will claim to be a grandchild of the target. The scammer will often spoof the grandchild’s number so it shows up on the grandparent’s phone and use stolen personal information to sell their scam.

Remember: Scammers and fraudsters are often very creative and very sneaky. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost a collective $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021. In addition to looking for red flags, we'd like to encourage you to shred documents with sensitive personal information.

If you do think you've been the victim of a scam or if you lost one of your credit cards or bank cards, the best thing you can do is act quickly. Call the financial institution immediately to report the card lost or stolen, or tell them what you think happened as soon as you possibly can.

Stay safe and stay vigilant!