This is a podcast episode titled, Romance scams: How they work, how they win and what we do about it. The summary for this episode is: <p>Explore the podcast → <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/security-intelligence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/security-intelligence</a>&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Valentine’s day might be over, but love is in the air.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>The love a scammer has for their victim’s wallet, that is.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>In this special episode of <em>Security Intelligence</em>, host Matt Kosinski sits down with Claire Nunez, Suja Viswesan, and Dave Bales to break down how modern romance scams actually work: from the “wrong number” text that starts an innocent chat, to long-con “pig butchering” schemes that use emotion, trust and time to extract money — often through crypto investment bait.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>The panel explains why anyone can fall for these scams, how breaches and public records can help scammers build convincing victim profiles and how AI is making the problem worse.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Finally, the team gets practical: how to talk to a loved one who may be caught in a scam, how to remove stigma so people report faster and what organizations can do when a “personal” scam becomes a corporate risk.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Key takeaways: Don’t respond to unknown numbers, treat online “investment opportunities” as a red flag and remember: if this happened to you, you’re not alone.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of IBM or any other organization or entity.</em>&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to the IBM Think newsletter → <a href="https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=news-urx-52120" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=news-urx-52120</a></p>