Technology

2026 Valentine’s romance scams and how to avoid them

Published

1 month ago

February 11, 2026

2026 Valentine’s romance scams and how to avoid them

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Valentine’s Day should be about connection. However, every February also becomes the busiest season of the year for romance scammers. In 2026, that risk is higher than ever.

These scams are no longer simple “lonely hearts” schemes. Instead, modern romance fraud relies on artificial intelligence, data brokers and stolen personal profiles. Rather than sending random messages and hoping for a response, scammers carefully select victims using detailed personal data. From there, they use AI to impersonate real people, create convincing conversations and build trust at scale.

As a result, if you are divorced, widowed or returning to online dating after the holidays, this is often the exact moment scammers target you.

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WHEN DATING APPS GET HACKED, YOUR PRIVATE LIFE GOES PUBLIC

Romance scams surge around Valentine’s Day as criminals use artificial intelligence and stolen data to target widowed, divorced and older adults returning to online dating. (Omar Karim/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The new face of romance scams in 2026

Romance scams are no longer slow, one-on-one cons. They’re now high-tech operations designed to target hundreds of people at once. Here’s what’s changed:

1) AI-generated personas that look and sound real

In the past, fake profiles used stolen photos and broken English. Today, scammers use AI-generated faces, voices and videos that don’t belong to any real person, making them almost impossible to reverse search.

You may be interacting with a profile that:

Has years of realistic-looking social media posts
Shares daily photos that match the story they tell
Sends customized voice notes that sound natural
Appears on “video calls” using AI face-mapping software.

Some scam networks even create entire fake families and friend groups online, so the person appears to have a real life, real friends and real history. To the victim, it feels like a genuine connection because the “person” behaves like one in every way.

2) Automated relationship scripts that adapt to you

Behind the scenes, many scammers now use software platforms that manage dozens of conversations at once. This is known as “scamware” and is incredibly hard to flag.

These systems:

Track your replies
Flag emotional triggers (grief, loneliness, fear, trust)
Suggest responses based on your mood and history.

When you mention that you are widowed, the tone quickly becomes more comforting. Meanwhile, if you say you are financially stable, the story shifts toward so-called “business opportunities.” And if you hesitate, the system responds by introducing urgency or guilt. It feels personal, but in reality, you’re being guided through a pre-written emotional funnel designed to lead to one outcome: money.

3) Crypto and “investment romance” scams

One of the fastest-growing versions of romance fraud now blends love and money. A BBC World Service investigation recently revealed that many romance scams are now run by organized criminal networks across Southeast Asia, using what insiders call the “pig butchering” model, where victims are slowly “fattened up” with trust before being financially destroyed.

These operations use call center style setups, data broker profiles, scripted conversations and AI tools to target thousands of people at once. This is not accidental fraud. It’s an industry.

And the reason you were selected is simple. Your personal data made you easy to find, easy to profile and easy to target.

After weeks of trust-building, the scammer introduces:

A “private” crypto platform
A fake trading app
A business or investment opportunity, “they use themselves.”

They may show fake dashboards, fake profits and even let you “withdraw” small amounts at first to build trust. But once larger sums are sent, the site disappears and so does the person. There is no investment. There is no account. And there is no way to recover the funds.

AI DEEPFAKE ROMANCE SCAM STEALS WOMAN’S HOME AND LIFE SAVINGS

Data brokers selling personal details fuel a new wave of romance fraud by helping scammers select financially stable, older victims before contact is made. (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)

How scammers find you before you ever match

The biggest misconception is that romance scams begin on dating apps. They don’t. They begin long before that, inside massive databases run by data brokers. These companies collect and sell profiles that include:

Your age and marital status
Whether you’re widowed or divorced
Your home address history
Your phone number and email
Your family members and relatives
Your income range and retirement status.

Scammers buy this data to build shortlists of ideal victims.

The data brokers behind romance scams

They filter for:

Age 55-plus
Widowed or divorced
Living alone
Financially stable
Not active on social media.

That’s how they know who to target before the first message is ever sent.

Why are widowed and retired adults targeted first?

Scammers aren’t cruel by accident. They target people who are statistically more likely to respond. If you’ve lost a spouse, moved recently or reentered the dating world, your personal data often shows that. That makes you a priority target. And once your name lands on a scammer’s list, it can be sold again and again. That’s why many victims say, “I blocked them, but new ones keep showing up.” It’s not a coincidence. It’s data recycling.

How the scam usually unfolds

Most romance scams follow the same pattern:

Friendly introduction: A warm message. No pressure. Often references something personal about you.
Fast emotional bonding: They mirror your values, your experiences, even your grief.
Distance and excuses: They can’t meet. There’s always a reason: military deployment, overseas job, business travel.
A sudden “crisis”: Medical bills, business losses, frozen accounts, investment opportunities.
Money requests: Wire transfers, gift cards, crypto or “temporary help.”

By the time money is involved, the emotional connection is already strong. Many victims send thousands before realizing it’s a scam.

The Valentine’s Day cleanup that stops scams at the source

If you want fewer scam messages this year, you need to remove your personal information from the places scammers buy it. That’s where a data removal service comes in. While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy.

These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

Practical steps to protect yourself this February

Here’s what you can do right now:

Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person
Be skeptical of fast emotional bonding
Verify profiles with reverse image searches
Don’t share personal details early
Remove your data from broker sites.
Use strong antivirus software to block malicious links and fake login pages. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

When you combine these steps, you remove the access, urgency and leverage scammers rely on.

SUPER BOWL SCAMS SURGE IN FEBRUARY AND TARGET YOUR DATA

Cybercriminals now deploy AI-generated faces, voices and scripted conversations to impersonate real people and build trust at scale in modern romance scams. (Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

Romance scams are no longer random. They are targeted, data-driven and emotionally engineered. This Valentine’s Day, the best gift you can give yourself is privacy. By removing your personal data from broker databases, you make it harder for scammers to find you, profile you and exploit your trust. And that’s how you protect not just your heart, but your identity, your savings and your peace of mind.

Have you or someone you love been contacted by a Valentine’s Day romance scam that felt real or unsettling? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

Bluetti’s Sora 500 solar panel is incredibly powerful for its size

Published

8 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Bluetti’s Sora 500 solar panel is incredibly powerful for its size

We don’t review many solar panels at The Verge, but the tech inside Bluetti’s incredibly portable Sora 500 panel makes it worth a deeper look. The new N-Type panels made by Bluetti and others give you more bang for the buck, pound, and square inch. That’s a big deal for vanlifers like me who depend upon these beefy portable solar panels to extend off-grid stays.

In real-world testing, I saw Bluetti’s 500W panel deliver 509W to my van’s power station, allowing me to generate over 800W when combined with the three sad 140W monocrystalline solar panels I have installed on top of my van. That kind of stationary output is fantastic. I typically consume about 1.6kWh a day, so this array lets me add a full day’s worth of charge in only two hours. I just wish that Bluetti had made the Sora 500 bifacial like Jackery and newcomer Zoupw did with their even lighter, high-wattage, portable, N-Type panels designed to maximize output in less than ideal conditions.

The Sora 500 is priced at €849 in Europe — it isn’t being sold in the US yet. Bluetti spokesperson Ellen Lee tells me that the company wants to bring it to the US market but it’s “currently navigating some shifting regional policies and trade dynamics.” Things that Zoupw and Jackery managed to sort out already.

$984

The Good

Incredibly compact when folded
Good performance in partial shade
Exceeded rated output
Efficient N-Type TOPCon cells

The Bad

Heavy compared to competitors
Single-sided (not bifacial)
Tedious to unfold/pack
Not yet available in the US

Bluetti’s single-sided Sora 500 panel uses TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) cells, an N-Type technology which is replacing older PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) tech. Compared to PERC, TOPCon panels do better in low-light, deal with high temperatures better, and degrade more slowly. TOPCon panels can achieve higher efficiencies (often ~23–25 percent) compared to typical PERC panels (~20–23 percent), depending on implementation.

The Sora 500 does well in shading tests, but partially shading the center four panels creates the most chaos, dropping from over 500W of output to just 50W.

The output from the Sora 500, plugged into the LV (low voltage) solar input of a EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 solar generator, dropped to just 50W when shading the four center panels. You can see my roof-top panels producing 302W on the HV input.

The Sora 500 did much better when I shaded other panel combinations, including the four just right of center.

Blocking the four panels right of center dropped output from over 500W to 276W.

All these advantages mean that you’ll get more for your money, as soon as you unfurl all 12 panels of the Sora 500 and over their extended lifetime. The panel also features an IP67 resistance to dust and water and an ETFE coating that makes it easier to wipe away dirt that interferes with solar intake.

Lightweight portables are no match for gusts of wind, this one was about 10 – 12 knots.

In my mid-March testing in the south of France at an altitude of about 600 meters, I was regularly seeing the Sora 500 delivering above its rated output, measuring as much as 509W on a cool and cloudless day. It also does a good job of handling the sun being partially shaded.

For example, on a very sunny day when the 12 individual panels that comprise the Sora 500 were producing over 500W, the output dropped to 412W when partially shading one corner panel, and 390W when partially shading the right-most two. Partially shading the four panels just to the right of center dropped the output to 276W.

The output from the Sora 500 dropped dramatically when I blocked the center four panels, falling to just 50W. That’s likely because I choked off the entire array by severing the connection between all four parallel zones. Bluetti uses a half-cut cell design and a 3-series, 4-parallel (3S4P) circuit architecture for the Sora 500. This results in multiple independent power zones by dividing the cells into smaller halves and distributing them across four parallel power paths. It helps to prevent a single shaded area from becoming a bottleneck for the entire panel, like you see with cheaper panels.

Unfortunately, Bluetti chose to cover the back of its panels with fabric and a complex system of kickstands and straps. By comparison, the Zoupw 480W and Jackery SolarSage 500 X N-Type panels are bifacial, meaning they can also collect ambient light from the back of the panels when placed on reflective surfaces like snow, sand, concrete, and, to a lesser extent, grass.

I haven’t tested these panels myself, but I’ve seen unconfirmed user reports claiming to have pushed the Zoupw beyond 525W of output. Importantly, both panels also weigh just 22lb (10kg), making them even lighter than the 28.4lb (12.9kg) Bluetti Sora 500.

Solar Panel	Base Power	Weight	Unfolded Area (sq in)	Watts per lb	Watts per sq in
Bluetti SORA 500	500W	28.40 lbs	~4,510 sq in (100.0” x 45.1”)	17.61 W/lb	0.110 W/sq in
Jackery SolarSaga 500 X	500W	22.05 lbs	~3,848 sq in (98.1” x 39.2”)	22.68 W/lb	0.130 W/sq in
Zoupw 480W	480W	22.49 lbs	~4,512 sq in (138.6” x 32.6”)	21.34 W/lb	0.106 W/sq in

On paper, the Jackery panel is the output king in terms of Watts per pound and unfolded Watts per square inch.

And while weight is an important enabler of portability, I should note that these things tend to fly away when the wind picks up. Fortunately, the Bluetti panel I’ve been testing has tie-down points for gusty days. All three panels are much lighter than the reliable 400W PERC monster from EcoFlow that I’ve been hauling around for the last four years. It weighs 35.3lbs (16kg) and is still available to buy for $599.

For vanlifers, the Bluetti Sora 500 absolutely dominates when it comes time to pack the panel away into an RV, van, or closet. The Zoupw and Jackery use standard 4-section or 6-section “slab” folds, while Bluetti uses a 12-section grid fold, allowing it to collapse into a much smaller, briefcase-like package. Even then, the 3.3-inch thick folded Bluetti is thinner than both the 3.35-inch thick Zoupw panel and 3.82-inch Jackery.

Solar Panel	Base Power	Folded Dimensions (L × W)	Folded Area (sq in)	Watts per Folded sq in
Bluetti SORA 500	500W	22.4” × 17.5”	392 sq in	1.28 W/sq in
Jackery SolarSaga 500 X	500W	39.2” × 20.7”	812 sq in	0.62 W/sq in
Zoupw 480W	480W	34.7” × 32.6”	1,131 sq in	0.42 W/sq in

The Sora 500 delivers a ton of output for a panel that folds down so small, working out to 1.28 Watts per square inch.

Conversely, the Sora 500 can be a pain in the ass to set up due to all the hinges and straps needed to support so many segments. It’s a puzzle I managed to mostly master after the third installation, but repositioning the panel to follow the sun throughout the day is a lesson in patience.

1/8

The Sora 500 folds down incredibly small.

Without official US pricing for the Sora 500 panel, it’s hard to do a direct price-per-watt comparison with the $649.99 Zoupw 480W and $999 (often on sale for $799) Jackery SolarSage 500 X. However, if we strip the European VAT from its €849 price tag and convert it, the Sora 500 works out to about $820. While that’s competitive, it still leaves the Zoupw 480W with the best price-per-watt performance in this class.

Bluetti’s Sora 500 can’t compete with the Zoupw 480W and Jackery SolarSage 500 X in terms of weight, but it wins handily in terms of Watts per square inch when folded down. It’s the only 500W panel that effectively disappears into a small closet or under a van bench. As such, it justifies its price premium for anyone like me who has limited space to store an extra solar panel they only need to deploy occasionally.

Unfolded: 100 × 45.1 × 0.1 in / 2541 × 1146.6 × 3 mm
Folded: 22.4 × 17.5 × 3.3 in / 570 × 445 × 85 mm
Weight: 28.4 lbs / 12.9 kg
Panels: 12x TOPCon
Conversion Efficiency: up to 25 percent
Voltage at Pmax (Vmp):40.92V
Current at Pmax (Imp): 12.22A
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 49.1V
Short Circuit Current (Isc): 13.31A
Operating Temperature: -13°F to 149°F / -25°C to 65°C
Best Working Temperature: 77°F / 25°C
1.5m MC4 to XT60 cable included in box

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

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Thomas Ricker

Technology

Too loud? Ticket’s in the mail

Published

8 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

You already know about speed cameras. Red light cameras. Toll cameras that photograph your plate and bill you later.

Now meet their cousin. Noise cameras are the newest automated enforcement technology spreading through American cities. A pole-mounted device contains sensitive microphones paired with a license plate camera.

IF SOMEONE GETS INTO YOUR EMAIL, THEY OWN EVERY ACCOUNT YOU HAVE. THESE 3 MOVES LOCK THEM OUT FOR GOOD

Your car drives past. If your exhaust tips over the legal decibel limit, a ticket arrives in your mailbox days later. No warning. No officer pulling you over. No flashing lights in your rearview mirror. Just a microphone that never blinks, never takes a break and never misses a shift.

Silence of the Lambos

New York City has been running these since 2021. The cameras have issued more than 1,600 violations and collected nearly $2 million in fines. Get caught once, and you’re looking at $800. Get caught repeatedly, and the fine climbs to $2,500.

New York City implemented noise cameras and has been using the technology since 2021. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Newport, Rhode Island, put two cameras on scenic Ocean Avenue. Within days, a Mustang GT got nailed at 85 decibels. Two decibels over the limit. $250 fine. Providence approved $180,000 to add cameras in 2026. Connecticut passed statewide legislation.

California has six cities running a five-year pilot program with fines up to $1,105. Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Sacramento and Washington, D.C., are all deploying or testing. Colorado, New Jersey and Hawaii have introduced similar legislation. This is not a local story anymore. It’s a national one moving fast, and most drivers have absolutely no idea it’s coming for them.

5 SIMPLE TECH TIPS TO TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Here’s how the technology actually works.

The microphone detects sound above the legal threshold, typically between 75 and 95 decibels depending on the city. To put that in plain English, a normal conversation runs about 60 decibels. A lawnmower hits around 90. Most cities are drawing the line somewhere in between. The camera cross-references the sound spike with the exact moment a vehicle passes, photographs the plate, and generates the ticket automatically. No officer involved. No human review in most cases. Just math, a microphone and a camera pointed at your plate.

Too loud and furious

When I’m in my Porsche and flip into manual mode, rowing through the gears with that beautiful exhaust note singing, I’m not doing the math on that out loud. Let’s just say I’m watching the camera location maps very carefully. You probably should too.

If your car reaches a certain decibal above the “legal threshold,” the microphone in the camera can detect the sound and cross references with the moment a vehicle passes. (Utah Department of Transportation)

Here’s what should concern drivers with completely stock vehicles. That Mustang GT wasn’t a tuned track car. It’s a car you buy at a dealership. Two decibels over the limit. $250 gone. Motorcycles are even more exposed. A stock Harley-Davidson idles around 75 decibels and can hit 90 under acceleration. Well inside the danger zone in several cities already running cameras. You don’t need a modified exhaust to get a ticket. You just need bad timing.

AI is being used to pinpoint which specific vehicle in a group triggered the alert. Not just the loudest car in the frame. Your car. The tech is getting smarter every single month.

DRONE FOOD DELIVERY LAUNCHES IN NEW JERSEY

Roar and peace

There are two valid sides here.

If someone with a straight-pipe exhaust does a flyby past your bedroom at midnight, you’re probably delighted they got caught. Noise pollution is a real health issue linked to sleep disorders, elevated blood pressure and anxiety. Cities have tried everything and nothing worked at scale until now.

An undated file photo of rush hour traffic in Manhattan, New York City, New York. (iStock)

But this is also another layer of always-on surveillance that never forgets and never gives you the benefit of the doubt. Critics have raised legitimate questions about whether cameras get placed disproportionately in lower-income neighborhoods, turning a public health tool into a revenue machine aimed at the wrong zip codes. Fair questions worth asking out loud.

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These cameras are spreading faster than most drivers realize. Search your city name plus “noise camera ordinance” to find the exact decibel limits where you live. Know the number before the camera does.

Send this to someone who is a car enthusiast, a motorcycle rider or anyone with a loud vehicle. Forward this before they find out the hard way. Consider it your good deed for the week.

Technology

The White House has an app now, and Trump wants you to report people to ICE on it

Published

20 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

The White House has an app now, and Trump wants you to report people to ICE on it

A new official White House app on Android and iOS takes the content from the White House website and copies it into app format. A tweet announcing the app on Friday morning appeared alongside a video joking about missile launches that also appears to feature an iPhone, rather than the elusive Trump Phone. There’s no word about exclusive features or tie-ins with the phone or Trump Mobile services.

A handful of tabs in the app mostly replicate pages that exist on the Trump Administration’s version of the White House website, including news, livestreams, social feeds, and a gallery. A prominent “Get in Touch” button on the social feeds tab includes an option for users to submit a tip to ICE, which takes them to a tip form on the ICE website. It also includes options for texting the president, contacting the White House, or signing up for a newsletter — we could suggest some better ones.