What are romance scams?
Romance scams usually begin with emails, and continue with phone calls. It usually involves a stranger who has a need to know more about you and your life. He needs to know the details of your social life, background, likes, and dislikes. He may appear to be really eager to get to know you and your life, or he may appear detached and perhaps even hostile.
Romance scammers are usually deeply in love with a victim who is told they are in love with him too. He may be able to sweet talk their love out of them, telling them they will be together forever, or that he is a big investor. People caught up in these scams are often left broken hearted, devastated, and penniless. This is a new form of banking heist. Most of these scammers do not expect to get caught.
How they work
Every romance scam is different. It could be that the fraudster pretends to be a very attractive young man from another country, or the fraudster will pretend to be your brother, sister, father, uncle, or mother. The fraudster has no problem sending counterfeit money, which he can get from a variety of different methods including counterfeit checks and stolen credit cards. Scammers often advertise their fake romantic relationship online, asking their victims to give them money on the spot or to meet them in person. These fake dates involve a sexual encounter and the fraudster will either pretend to have health problems and want emergency money, or the fraudster will simply disappear.
What are the different types of scams?
A classified advertisement or classified emails to humans. Typically, the price is too good to be true and the promise of money for some “services” is enough to lure people into making payments.
Classified advertisements or classified emails to humans. Typically, the price is too good to be true and the promise of money for some “services” is enough to lure people into making payments. Personals advertisement or paid ads on social media websites. This type of ad is not always sent via email, but is usually paid for via a classified advertisement.
Personals advertisement or paid ads on social media websites. This type of ad is not always sent via email, but is usually paid for via a classified advertisement. Scams that are disguised as investments.
Dating Scams
The internet dating scams that take place in which the con artist seduces people online in order to steal money from them. People who are scammed tend to be in their twenties and thirties. The scammer is usually an older male, because he knows that his victims tend to be young and in relationships with others. The con artist is someone who poses as a divorced man with a long and successful career, and has access to vast amounts of money.
Mugging Scams
This is probably the most common type of internet dating scam and it typically occurs when scammers pose as police officers and have victims over the age of 55 send money and gifts. It is a lucrative scam because older people tend to be richer and more trusting.
Mating Scams
Scammers target millions of men and women that use dating sites and apps. We are never given the opportunity to actually meet the people that we are communicating with. The scammers are ingenious at manipulating these online connections and making them believe that they have found their perfect soul mate. While this may seem like a good idea at first, the person you are meeting and who you actually want to meet is someone that is just as shady as the person you are chatting with online. These people can gain access to personal information to get closer to you, and this can cause some serious emotional distress. It’s important that you be extra cautious about who you are interacting with online.
Employment Scams
Many people are now using dating websites and apps for employment purposes. If you fall victim to an employment scam, you will lose money or even get fired from your job. If you’re looking for a part-time job or an income, the idea of a dating site or a dating app may not seem so strange, but this is not the case with employment scams. Before you get involved with someone, it’s important that you check his/her employment history to determine whether or not they’re a scammer or not.
Fraudulent Lottery Scams
Lotteries are quite popular these days, and no one wants to miss out on a chance to win a big prize. There are many fake lotteries out there, so it’s important to always check the status of all the different lotteries you plan on playing.
Student Loans Scam
As of May 2018, the Federal Trade Commission reported that close to 37,000 people in the United States have fallen victim to student loan debt scammers. The most common student loan debt scams involve someone posing as an employee of the IRS or a law firm. It turns out that some of these scammers even target victims in their own families. Be very skeptical of someone who is trying to get your personal information over the phone.
Credit Card Scam
According to statistics released by the FTC in 2015, nearly 250,000 people each year lose money to credit card scammers. These scammers may be using phone calls or text messages to convince their targets that they’re in some kind of financial trouble and need to make a payment immediately or risk losing their credit cards.
Charitable Scams
In order to help people, charities and non-profit organizations make donations. Online scammers are attempting to target vulnerable individuals by taking their donations and pretending to be legitimate organisations. This is extremely dangerous as those who are paying money into a fraudulent scheme usually do not contact the charity again or make donations when they do become aware of the scam.
People that are scam victims have to watch out for the same kinds of red flags that romance scammers take advantage of. Be aware of the flow of funds, if they request for more money than they originally gave, and how they proceed. Avoid sending money to people that do not give their name.
Who is vulnerable to romance scams?
Romance scammers prey on all types of people, with the majority of victims being in their twenties to their late thirties. Online dating sites are just one way they are able to operate. The average person looking for a relationship will think they are in good shape, with very few relationship red flags, and no experience with scams. However, there are many dating sites out there, so it is possible to meet someone who claims to be a great catch without any experience with romance scams. Others will suspect the person is lying because of inconsistencies. So the key is to watch out for the red flags and get out of the scam before it’s too late.
More Scam Warning Signs
The biggest red flag is that the scammer demands money immediately.
How can you avoid being scammed by a scammer?
Always check to see if there are any fees associated with the dating site. This way, you’ll know that you’re dealing with a legitimate site, and it’s not free dating. Pay close attention to the title of the profile. A scammer can put in a scammer’s name in the name or title, or some variation that sounds like something real.
There are also a few scams on dating sites that will probably never happen. Have you heard of POF, Plenty of Fish, Jdate, Match, OKCupid, and other reputable dating sites? These sites might be used by scammers. Some scammers on those sites might post a profile with a fake name, address, and family members’ information. Don’t be fooled, and don’t give away any information. These sites might be attractive to someone looking to swindle you.
Conclusion
There are a lot of digital security mistakes that you need to avoid. Some of them are intentionally designed to catch you off guard. Your friends are also likely falling for online dating scams. The best way to avoid scams is to have trust in others. Never give out your financial and social security information to anyone that you don’t know for sure that they are trustworthy.
While you should be careful in the future, you should also focus on the things that you can control. The next time you have a chance to have a digital footprint or identify yourself as trustworthy, do it. The better you are at protecting yourself, the less likely you are to be the victim of a scam.