Looking for love? Red flags to look for as romance scams are on the rise

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A warning if you are looking for love - romance scams rose 22% last year and cost Americans more than $1 billion annually.

And it can happen to anyone.

Liza Likins, a backup singer for music icons including Stevie Nicks and Linda Ronstadt, has come forward to share her story, saying she fell victim to a dating scam and lost more than $1 million.

Many of these scams begin online and on dating apps, but you can avoid becoming a victim.

"You click right away, you meet, there's sparks flying, they're telling you you're the love of their life."

One woman, who did not want to be identified, says that's how a relationship began, but then she started to realize the romance was a scam.

"When he had started asking me for money and the story just kept getting crazier and crazier," she said.

Experts warn scams are getting more sophisticated.

"AI can be used to generate a profile photo that looks legitimate. Maybe if the scammer doesn't have English as their primary language, they can use AI to generate responses in not only texts, but also voice," said GuidePoint Security expert Patrick McNeil.

Love bombers often pose as members of the military, so they can claim they can't meet in person because they're stationed abroad.

One soldier, a married father of two, says his identity was stolen. His pictures were taken right off of Instagram and used to lure multiple women.

The identity thief and con artist got one woman to wire money and drain her 401K to pay for a supposed wedding ring and a deposit on a house for the couple to start a life together.

"We have a flaw in our operating system called a sunk cost. We've already given somebody some money and we feel like we have to continue to follow through and give them more and more, until we realize we've made a big mistake," said McNeil.

So as soon as you get suspicious: "Push to meet in person, push for some sort of verification," he adds.

Red flags to watch for include someone asking for money for train or plane tickets to see you, a deposit on an apartment, an Airbnb, or a house for you to stay in together or funds for an operation, cancer treatment or some other ailment for themselves or a family member.

Romance scammers also tend to come on very strong, asking for too much too soon.

Many times they are also refuse to meet face to face and always have a "woe is me" story. Also, beware if they try to isolate you from friends and family - another huge red flag.