International Women’s Day celebrates empowerment, independence and resilience. However, people rarely talk about a difficult reality. Women navigating major life transitions, especially widows and divorced women, have become prime targets for sophisticated . In fact, scammers often look for people going through emotional or financial change. That is exactly what happened to one woman interviewed by ICE after she lost her husband and turned to online dating.
“Somebody suggested going online through a dating service … and this guy’s pictures showed up. He was no George Clooney, nothing gorgeous, but he did resemble my husband.”
Stories like this highlight an uncomfortable truth. Romance scams do not succeed because victims are careless. Instead, scammers carefully identify potential targets and craft messages that feel personal and believable. Increasingly, that targeting begins with data.
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When someone loses a spouse or goes through a divorce, certain information often becomes public or commercially available:
collect and package this information. They build profiles that may include:
While this data is often marketed for advertising purposes, it can also be misused. Scammers don’t randomly search for victims. They build targeting lists. And “recently widowed” and “newly single homeowner” are categories that can be inferred from publicly available and commercially aggregated data.
Obituaries are meant to honor loved ones. But they can also unintentionally expose personal details:
Scammers scrape obituary websites and cross-reference them with people-search databases. Within days, they can identify surviving spouses, locate their addresses, and find phone numbers. This is often the starting point for:
The scammer’s advantage? They already know what just happened in your life. That makes their message feel personal and believable.
One of the fastest-growing threats today is the so-called “pig butchering” scam â a long-term romance scheme that transitions into an investment pitch.
Here’s how it works:
Widows and divorced women are disproportionately targeted because scammers assume:
These scams can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the targeting often begins with .
Another growing tactic involves scammers posing as:
They may reference accurate details such as:
Because the information is correct, the outreach feels legitimate. Some even create fake websites, LinkedIn profiles, and credentials to reinforce credibility. Women managing retirement assets alone, especially after the death of a spouse, are often approached with “exclusive” investment opportunities or urgent financial warnings. These predators rely on one thing: access to detailed personal information.
The more publicly accessible your information is, the easier it becomes for scammers to craft convincing stories.
Data broker profiles can include:
When scammers combine this with obituary data or court filings, they can infer life changes. They don’t need illegal hacking. They just need searchable data. Reducing that exposure significantly lowers the likelihood of becoming a target.
International Women’s Day is about empowerment, and financial independence is a critical part of that. Protecting yourself means:
One of the most effective proactive steps is removing your personal data from people-search sites and other data brokers.
There are hundreds of these sites, each with its own opt-out process, and many relist your data later. However, reducing how much of your personal information appears online can make it much harder for scammers to build con
