RSAC Speakers Call for Empathy-First Support for Romance Scam Victims
Summary
At RSAC, advocates urged banks, law enforcement, telecoms and regulators to pair empathy-first victim support with stronger fraud prevention against romance and pig-butchering scams, citing underreported losses and cases where intervention prevented transfers.
Key points
- Pig-butchering scams use prolonged trust-building to defraud victims, often through romance or investment schemes.
- The article reports that the FBI received 23,159 confidence or romance scam complaints in 2025; investment scam complaints totaled 72,984, with $8.65 billion in reported losses.
- SAFE, founded by Ayleen Charlotte, advises financial institutions, law enforcement and other organizations on supporting scam victims with empathy.
- Operation Shamrock brings together law enforcement, technologists and financial leaders to disrupt pig-butchering operations run from Southeast Asia.
- TIAA stopped an attempted $250,000 transfer after identifying a suspected scam; it took three and a half weeks and involvement from public agencies to persuade the customer.
- Speakers called for banks, telecoms and regulators to coordinate on fraud detection, prevention, staff training and blocking scam calls and texts.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Public discussion and advocacy on romance and pig-butchering scams, emphasizing victim support, fraud prevention, and cross-industry cooperation.
- Impact
- Victims may suffer substantial financial losses and emotional trauma, while shame and inadequate support can compound the harm. The article reports 23,159 confidence or romance scam reports and 72,984 investment scam complaints, with $8.65 billion in investment scam losses in 2025; it notes that most pig-butchering scams go unreported, and these figures are not stated to represent pig-butchering scams alone. Rick Swenson described an 87-year-old customer who had transferred $400,000 from accounts at other institutions and whose attempted $250,000 transfer TIAA stopped.
People
Ayleen CharlotteA romance-scam victim who researched fraud psychology and founded Scam Awareness and Fraud Education (SAFE) to advise organizations on empathetic support for scam victims.Erin WestFounder of Operation Shamrock, which brings together law enforcement, technologists, and financial leaders to disrupt pig-butchering scams run from Southeast Asia.Lisa PlaggemierExecutive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance and co-presenter with Rick Swenson on protecting older adults from online scams.Rick SwensonTIAA's Managing Director of Enterprise Fraud Management; discussed efforts to prevent a customer from transferring funds in a suspected scam and co-presented on protecting older adults.