What is a romance scam?
It’s actually an “abuse of intimacy”. These fraudsters use tricks such as tricks and lies to attract their victim and seduce them into parting with money.
It’s a “fantasy” – make believe – love story. They lure you by writing long and romantic emails or messages, and they often send you photos. However, in reality, the ‘guy’ they’re trying to get is someone else – often one of their ‘sources’ who has been encouraged by this ‘friend’ to make the proposal.
These scammer are most successful when their victim has trouble trusting people, or when their victim feels comfortable with them.
The reason why these ‘scammers’ are successful is because they make the victim feel special.
Suspiciousness is seen as sexy in their world.
they are scams that pretend to be from another country
they do not disclose where they are calling from or who they are, if they know their true identity.
these romance scams come from all over the world, not just the US
what is certain is that they don’t offer you travel vacations or package deals, or a boatload of cash.
what is certain is that they don’t offer you travel vacations or package deals, or a boatload of cash. The ones who do this make you believe you’re in love and can get rich through a scam.
do not travel abroad with someone you do not know and trust well.
do not give out personal information over the phone or online.
do not hand over your passport numbers over the phone.
Do not pay any money to anyone you don’t know.
If you think that you have been scammed by a romance scammer, do not go to the police right away.
they will ask for money from you
romance scammers will usually start off a long-distance relationship, i.e. that they will ask for money from you in order to travel across the US, Canada, Europe, and the UK. The scammer will insist that he has a family that will suffer if he doesn’t return to them. On the other hand, they might pretend to be very religious or very spiritual and they will pretend to have a disease or an illness, i.e. they will pretend to have leukemia. The other red flag are the longer periods of text messages. A lot of times, the text messages are too long and too intimate. In some cases, the text messages have less than one hundred words. If the relationship reaches a level of intensity, the scammer will often send you pictures.
they may have a fake online profile or use photos of someone else
He/she may say they’re from Nigeria, India or another country in the Middle East.
The messages are always enticing and there may be the ideal candidate that has the kind of money needed to fuel your excitement.
They always try to meet you at a hotel or other public place like a shopping mall.
The message they’re sending is always sweet and flattering, despite being short and generic.
They offer to fly you over to their country and make love to you as you’re bonding with your special one.
If you’re still undecided, look for signs like spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. These are signs that the person is not who they say they are. If you’re unsure, simply call the dating site you’re on to verify.
Follow these steps to ensure you are not falling for romance scams.
if you do not send them money, the scammer will threaten to tell your friends and family about the relationship
To some, romance is a trip down romantic lane. People go about doing things such as skyping, exchanging gifts, and going on a long romantic dinner. The goal of the scammer is to steal your money, and in many cases, your identity, all in the name of love.
False selfless romantic treatment
The scammer uses a sense of seduction, charm, or excessive affectation to make the victim want to do anything to please him/her.
There is no consideration for your convenience, personal wishes, or financial independence, and this is because they only have selfish motives.
So, how can you spot a love scam? If you send them money, the scammer will threaten to tell your friends and family about the relationship.
Red flags of a romance scam
Fake e-mail from “someone” asking for your mobile phone number.
Getting very close quickly (like inviting you to the bar or a movie, to be specific).
Suspiciously quickly establishing a new mobile phone number for them (the scammer may be posing as a company executive, so they need a new number).
Claiming to have traveled thousands of miles to see you or claim to be very poor (don’t fall for these comments; there is no need to borrow money or ask for a loan from you to travel).
Assuming that you need to help them with money or deposit money in their bank account (these types of requests should be absolutely ignored).
Scammers know what type of person they’re trying to prey on.
Many romance scammers use fake profiles and fake names. They may use pictures from legitimate dating sites or accounts. There are also fake profiles that don’t appear to be on social media at all. These types of scams are particularly prevalent for higher-quality males in the dating world. Even male dating sites use verification to keep the profiles from being impersonated.
Even the threat of their blackmail tactics are creepy. The scammer may say, “I won’t give you your money unless you say we’re a couple.” These types of schemes can easily be avoided by simply not getting caught up in the moment. They may say they need to get in touch in order to make travel arrangements or check in to hotels. But, once you share any personal information, there’s no way to remove it from their account.
they list various places they’ve traveled in order to seem more credible
they list very basic details about themselves (which gives us some insight to their character)
They use a fake name and other fake details
They always claim they are in the military or government
They have a lot of hidden pictures of the people they are dating
They suggest some type of cash compensation for their ‘services’
They always show photos of themselves with cars, exotic animals, or vacations
They want to meet in person the first week
Many cases of romance scams begin with someone telling you they are in the military or other government service. Once you have sent them money, they often disappear. They try and stop you from calling them, but you can’t.
they say things like “I’m in love with you” but know nothing about your life
We see many different scammers. These scams can be found through various sites. So, don’t just get a gut feeling. Go on the dating sites and forums to find out what people say. In many cases, people will tell you how they met, and you’ll be shocked by their stories. It’s important to listen to the stories people share, because if they’re sharing their experience with a true scammer, chances are they haven’t heard anything bad.
There is a romance scam detection tool that a lot of websites are using these days. Once you do a search on this tool, you’ll find many scams you don’t need to worry about, and there are a lot of red flags for you to look for.
How you can avoid being scammed by a
spar
china scam
Impersonator
Obtain an original and recent photo ID. They will ask you to send pictures and/or information to verify your identity. Scammers use the same IDs of real people or stolen IDs and social security numbers.
Make sure you have checked the email for typos, spelling, etc. Use caution with correspondence with strangers. Do not click on links in email. You should also double check email addresses before you send money.
Resume
For everyone it may be helpful to get your resume reviewed by someone you know who works in your desired field. It is not possible for the scammer to obtain your resume if it has been given to a trusted third party.
Risk
Internet dating sites are not matchmaking services.