Online Dating Safety and Romance Scams
Question: What is one of the most successful scams in the world?
Answer: Romance scams, which results in hundreds of millions of dollars a year, in profits, to those pulling off the scam. A romance scam depends on online dating and the notion that its possible to fall in love with someone online before ever meeting that person. The scam artists have perfected the trade so well that people who are not normally gullible to scams fall for this one. And that’s because scammers have had years to perfect their techniques and their lies. The following video, by Online Dating Magazine, reveals some of the scam techniques. The video is part of “Online Dating Safety Awareness Month,” which is held every February. Following the video, we’ve posted a transcript.
Online Dating Safety and Romance Scams
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGpMBINyU0
Romance Scam Video Transcript
While online dating is one of the best ways to meet new people, it’s also important to always be alert. When you are communicating with someone via the computer you are communicating with a persona. You don’t really know what is true or not true about a person until you have dated that person in real life.
Every year hundreds of millions of dollars are lost by singles to online dating scams. The most common is a person putting up a fake profile then wooing you via email and on the phone. They will claim to be travelling on business as an excuse for not being able to meet in person. Once they feel they have gotten you to fall in love with their persona, they fake an emergency and ask you for money. Many people fall prey to this because they’ve already fallen in love, despite not meeting the person.
To avoid money scams:
– Don’t communicate with someone who says they are travelling or who makes excuses for not being able to meet in person.
– Never give money to someone you haven’t met in person.
– Remember that scammers aren’t afraid to communicate via phone too.
– If it sounds like a person is trying to rush a relationship online, they are probably a scammer.
Millions of people use online dating services and hundreds of thousands marry as a result of meeting someone online. Have fun, stay alert, and be safe!
For more safety tips, visit OnlineDatingMagazine.com
I wish I knew about this website a few years back! I was a sucker for a con artist and lost a little money to a guy from the UK, who supposedly went on a business trip to Africa and ran into some money issues. My bank account ended up being frozen by my financial institution (thank goodness!!) as I could have lost a lot more. I now know how to read the signs. I have actually been texting with a gentleman for the past month and 2 nights ago I realized he is a scammer as well. I didn’t let my guard down this time, so when he said he had a business trip to tend to and then 2 nights ago he ran into an ‘issue’ and required money asap, I knew I had been duped again. Luckily for me I did not invest my heart in him (nor any of my money) but instead I have been having a little fun of my own with him, turning the tables sorta speak 🙂