Heartbreak hackers: Valentine’s day scams on the rise

With a love rush ahead, Valentine’s Day brings more than just romance. Cybersecurity experts are warning about a rise in phishing scams.

No one’s really lonely on Valentine's Day, with persistent cybercriminals always on the prowl for new victims. For example, attackers have launched numerous romance-related phishing websites, the Check Point Research (CPR) team claims.

In the first month of 2025 alone, researchers identified over 18,000 new Valentine’s Day-themed phishing websites preying on love-seeking individuals. Researchers registered a whopping 123% increase in newly registered domains. However, the report’s authors claim that the uptick is consistent with trends observed in previous years.

In one of the phishing campaigns researchers uncovered, cybercriminals lured victims with malicious links, that tout chance to win a “Valentine’s Day basket.” Some phishing emails claim the recipient has already won.

However, all phishing emails push users to answer a few questions in exchange for the non-existent basket, teasing victims with the same enticing image across all emails.

A holiday-themed increase in phishing attempts is no surprise, as cybercriminals often prey on shoppers ahead of the key annual celebrations. Phishing attacks also increase ahead of Christmas, Thanksgiving Day, and Black Friday, when most users are hunting for gifts.

Cybercriminals take advantage of the upsurge in retail activity by targeting shoppers with too-good-to-be-true deals, impersonating known brands, and leading them to fake URLs where personally identifiable information (PII) and credit card numbers are targeted.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, researchers advise netizens to:

• Avoid interacting with suspicious emails: Never engage with a potential phishing message. If an email includes an unfamiliar link, an unexpected attachment, or requests a response, avoid clicking, opening, or replying. Report and remove it from your inbox to prevent accidentally opening it in the future
• Beware, your credentials are the target: Cybercriminals often aim to steal login credentials, knowing that many users reuse usernames and passwords across multiple accounts. Avoid sharing your credentials across different accounts to minimize the risk of account breaches. Also, be cautious not to type your credentials on fraudulent phishing websites
• Be cautious with unrealistic offers: A deal that seems too good to be true – such as an 80% discount on a new iPhone, luxury jewelry, or Ray-Ban sunglasses – is likely to be a fraud. Always use common sense
• Ensure you’re buying from a trusted retailer: Instead of clicking on promotional links in emails, search for the retailer on Google. Navigating the retailer’s official website from the search results is always safer