SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — While many people may turn online or to a dating app for looking for love this Valentine’s Day, the FBI is warning people of romance scams.

Scammers fake romance by posing online as someone else and trying to establish a relationship as fast as possible in order to gain a victim’s trust with so they can steal the victim’s money.

The FBI says that criminals commonly target women by posing as a successful businessman versus criminals target men by pretending to be a young, beautiful woman.

Some warning signs that your latest crush may be a scam is if they profess love quickly, only want to communicate with email or instant messaging, want to isolate you from friends and family or are asking you to send over money.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, 19,000 people in 2022 in the United States were scammed for approximately $739 million. Illinoisans in 2021 lost over $19 million to online romance scams.

Some tips the FBI recommends are going slow, never sending money to someone you have not met in person, and being careful about what you make public on social media and any dating profile. They also recommend searching the individuals and stopping contact with the other person if you suspect they’re a scam.

“Fraudsters won’t stop pursuing a victim until the victim calls it quits,” Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz said. “Proceed carefully and stay alert to warning signs from the very beginning to avoid the emotional and financial fall-out that accompanies romance scams.”

The FBI encourages people targeted by romance scams to call 217-522-9675 to file a complaint.