Studies show that more than 15% of American adults use online dating websites and online applications to communicate and find love. The sad truth is that online communication is not only about fun. This can be also risky as soon as a growing number of people find communication on dating sites as an opportunity for fraud. You have to know how to detect and avoid dating site scams.
So, how to protect yourself from online fraud and detect scammers before they try to cheat you?
Use Safe Dating Sites
To avoid scams of any nature, use only safe and reliable online dating sites. Such online platforms use precise user verification systems, which lessens the chance that scammers
VictoriyaClub, TenderBride, Match, eHarmony, and Elite Singles are at the top of our list of secure sites for international love affairs.
How the Dating Site Scam Works
As a rule, scammers use bogus profiles. To gain the trust of their victims and establish better emotional contact with a person they are chatting with, scammers use emotional appeal. By doing so, they get what they want quicker than they would do through simple communication. In many cases, the victims of the online scam are left but only embarrassed but also in financial distress. So, when going in doe online dating, please be on the lookout for online romance scams. Do not trust strangers. The sad truth is that we often get fooled by people whom we think we can trust and rely on. But it’s not always so…
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report, there were about 4K cases of dating site scams related to online dating in Australia in 2018. The represented losses of victims of online scams made up over AU$24 million. As stated by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), every three hours a case of online fraud is reported in the United Kingdom.
When you start dating someone online, be careful and beware of the major fraud signs:
Fraud Signs
- Prony profiles. Scammers create fake accounts, filling them with pictures from magazines and stock photo sites, thus portraying themselves as successful and talented. As a rule, online romance scammers claim to be US citizens working abroad or give a similar excuse that proves their inability to meet in person.
- Gaining victims’ trust. Online dating scams commonly begin as regular online romances. You exchange general information about one another, like the place you live, your hobby, personal information, etc. A scammer may ask you to leave a dating site and continue communication on third-party platforms. This is when the administration of an online dating site cannot protect you any longer.
- Con artists may express their “love” quickly and effusively, find similarities with the victim, and claim the online match was destiny.
- When a victim becomes attached, a scammer starts looking for ways to dupe the person into sending him money. The most common scenario is expressing concerns because of the inability to visit a victim, which was caused by the lack of money. This suggests that a victim will offer to send funds. In a different scenario, a scammer asks for money directly.
Do not send money to a person you barely know or whom you’ve never met in person. Most likely, he or she is simply scamming you and will disappear right after your money is funded on the scammer’s balance.
How to understand you are being scammed
Scammers are wise. They are ready to spend many months on online communication, gaining their victim’s trust. They will make you feel like you are building real relationships with a person who seems to be addicted to you. A scammer may also pretend like he or she is ready to meet you in person, pretending to book flights to visit you. However, no one will actually come.
When a scammer realizes that he has won your trust, he makes first attempts to ask for money or gifts. They can also ask you to share your credit card details or other sensitive data that you shouldn’t share with anyone. A scammer may also pretend that he needs money for some sort of personal emergency. He may lie about the illness of his relatives or family members. He may claim to be severely ill and require an urgent expensive medical operation.
You should also be ready that a scammer may ask you to receive some valuable items, which you will need to resend to someone else. This can be everything starting from electronic gear to gold. A scammer may also ask you to buy something and send it to someone else. They may even ask you to accept money into your bank account and transfer it later to someone else.
In fact, there are plenty of possible ways of being scammed online. We described the most common cases above. Regardless of how you are scammed, you could end up losing a lot of money. Keep this in mind and be careful when someone you hardly know asks you for financial support.
How to avoid losing money
- Be careful about sharing sensitive personal or financial information.
- Stay on the dating site, and do not agree to exchange emails or continue communication in messengers.
- Be wary of “coincidental” similarities as well as inconsistencies in an individual’s story.
- If an online prospect claims to be a United States citizen living or working in another country and asks you for help or money, refer the prospect to the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
- Romance scammers may claim to still be “in love” when their victims find them out. Don’t fall for this dating site scam.
- Romance scammers tend to profess an excessive romantic interest in their victims, and very quickly after “meeting” them.
- Never send money to someone you have met in an online dating scenario before getting to know them personally.
- Suspect anyone who always has an excuse to not meet in person.
- Never share with the person you are meeting, especially if you do not know them personally, information that may compromise you. This includes photos or videos, your address, place of work, or phone number.
What to do when you were scammed on a dating site?
Anyone who dates online can be deceived. Here are some of the proven recommendations that you need to keep in mind when you understand you became a victim of a scam.
- Cease all contact and block phone numbers.
- Keep copies of all communications on your PC and cloud storage.
- Report the matter to the dating website where you were scammed.
- Also report the matter to your local police.
- Report the matter to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Above all Report the matter to the Federal Trade Commission
Final words
This is always a fun and interesting thing to meet a person online and begin romance when you live in different countries or even on different continents. But aside from all those love matters, you need to be careful when you notice the strange behavior of the person you are communicating with. Keep our recommendations in mind and don’t be afraid to report a dating site scam when you notice it. Don’t let online dating scammers make you a victim. Be wise and may your online dating intentions bring you only positive emotions. Choose only reliable and reputable sites.
