14/02/2017

Valentine's Day 2017


These Are the Best and Worst Cities to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
A man hands a balloon to a woman as he decorates Fillmore Street on Valentine's Day in San Francisco. Photograph by Justin Sullivan—Getty Images

Lots of money goes into Valentine’s Day — but how far that money takes you depends on where you live.

WalletHub analyzed 100 of the most populated cities across 20 key metrics, focusing mostly on budget, activities, gift accessibility, and the weather forecast for Feb. 14. San Francisco ranked number one overall, followed by Scottsdale, Ariz.; Orlando; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Seattle. San Francisco-based consumers have access to more jewelry stores per capita, while Scottsdale expects to have a sunny Valentine's Day and Orlando has more florists per capita.

San Bernardino, Calif.; Cleveland; Detroit; Newark, N.J.; and Hialeah, Fla. rank in the worst five cities overall. Cleveland offers some of the most expensive tickets for Valentine's Day parties (on average), while Cleveland, Newark, and Hialeah (a city in Miami-Dade) offer couples expensive three-course meals for two.

related: Here’s How Much People Are Expected to Spend on Valentine’s Day

read more

More than $25 million lost in online dating and romance scams in 2016

As Valentine's Day approaches, the consumer watchdog has issued a fresh warning about dating and romance scams, revealing losses of more than $25 million from such scams in 2016 alone.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received more than 4100 reports of dating and romance scams last year.

Of the reported cases, just 25 per cent amounted to the $25 million-plus losses. The figure is the largest amount of money lost to any type of scam, and $3 million greater than the same reports of 2015.

read more

Experts warn of online dating scams following Valentine’s Day surge

IF being alone on Valentine’s Day wasn’t already painful enough, singles have just been given another kick in guts.

With the annual faux-holiday set to be responsible for a surge in online dating, singles are being told to be cautious of scammers looking to capitalise on their loneliness.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claim more than $25 million was stolen by romance scammers last year — the largest amount lost to any scam in 2016.

read more