The Better Business Bureau is warning about a new scam targeting those who are financially and emotionally vulnerable.

It’s a new twist on the well-known romance scam, whereby a con artist offers to become your so-called “sugar momma” or “sugar daddy” by paying your bills in exchange for your affections.

The con artist usually makes contact with a potential victim through a social media or dating app offering to be the victim’s “sugar momma” or “sugar daddy.”

The scammer then sends the targeted victim a check or pretends to send a money transfer to their bank account.

They then tell the victim to keep most of the money as their “weekly allowance” after they perform a small favour. They then ask that part of the money be sent to a needy friend, pay a bill or make a donation to charity.

That, says the BBB’s Kristen Matthews, is when they get you because the check is fake and so is the charity, leaving you on the hook for the funds.

Matthews says most of the victims happen to be young because the notion of a “sugar daddy” or “sugar momma” has been popularized through social media among college students who are looking for ways to pay their bills.