Signs of a Romance Scam
1) The man is controlling
Although some women may be comfortable with their choice of a man, you may want to consider meeting with your partner first to gauge compatibility before moving forward. Usually, when you meet your match, he becomes more distant or dismissive of you, and he may even accuse you of not being interested. This is called gaslighting and is a tactic that your con artist uses to gain control over you.
2) You haven’t met in person
Most dating sites are designed to make it easy to meet with people you’re interested in. If you have never met with a man you’ve been dating online, it could be that you’re being scammed. If you meet your match at a public place such as a park, it’s a good sign that you’re meeting an actual person.
Romance Scams Around the World
Scammers are most active in India, Pakistan, and China. After all, you can find almost anything on the Internet if you research hard enough. However, most romance scams have their origins in Nigeria. The majority of romance scammers operate with these myths that are similar to others that are also shared by people around the world.
Here are the four most popular romance scams:
Quick marriage scam
These are folks who set up a profile on a dating website. Then they put up a picture of their partner. Then they pretend to be a Nigerian woman living abroad, hoping to find a man who will be willing to marry her. The pictures that are used for the scam are photoshopped images that have been stolen from the Internet and are often fake.
Protect Yourself from Romance Scams
If you are one of the victims of a scam, there are ways to protect yourself from such fraud. First, make sure that you know the person you are corresponding with on a dating site or app. You can do this by asking to have your conversation sent to a different email account. It’s crucial that you stop communicating with the scammer once you realize that they are not who they say they are.
Keep your money in your PayPal account or bank account. Don’t send money directly to the scammer. Also, always use a credit card or debit card when purchasing goods, because then the transaction cannot be traced to you. Don’t write a lot of personal information down. Scammers can use this to impersonate you. Use just a first name and an email address that is an easy way to verify who you are.
Relationships are not built on money
There’s one other huge red flag. The majority of these scammers ask for money to start up a relationship, not to pay expenses like rent or mortgage. Instead of paying for a large wedding, why not spend that money on travel or a camping trip or any number of things that may be more rewarding than an extravagant wedding? If you’re in love, but your partner wants to change to impress or impress you, it could be a sign of a scam.
How to avoid getting scammed
Scams are hard to spot because they disguise themselves. The only way to know if it’s a romance scam is to find someone trustworthy you can trust to help you out. That way you won’t get burned.
It’s always better to date someone who actually wants to be in a relationship instead of scammers who want to use you for money.
Watch out for these red flags
These scammer types also never identify themselves, it’s always a fictitious name. Keep in mind, that before meeting a complete stranger, you should always make sure they’re online and have a photo that represents who they say they are. These scammers love to use fake names, email addresses and addresses for their profiles. If you are communicating with someone who is unknown to you, this should raise a red flag immediately. If you’re unsure of who someone is, please take a moment and ask a few questions to find out.
This person, of course, will ask for money. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s time to contact someone like the National Cyber Security Alliance or the Better Business Bureau to get a warning about this scam.
Conclusion
Love is not blind. You have to think about your potential partner before deciding whether you want to go on a date or not. Do your research, consider everything that’s important to you, and only continue when you’re positive. A common mistake people make is trusting anyone who gets on the Internet, regardless if they seem real or not. Women and men need to be educated about this and learn how to be safe online.