Romance scammers are usually surrounded by accomplices posing as business her partners, lawyers, or doctors. In other cases, entire groups of organized criminals band together to pretend to be one person looking for love. Scammers contact victims on dating sites and social media. They build what appears to be a relationship of trust. Scammers are demanding money from digital enthusiasts, claiming they are in some kind of emergency. Scammers need victims to lower their defences, so it can take six months or more of digital advertising before they first demand money. But that’s exactly why this kind of scam is especially effective.
COMMON SCAM ON DATING SITES
Scammers use dating sites to lure victims by pretending to be potential romantic partners. They create fake online profiles using fictitious identities or data stolen from real people.”The internet makes this kind of crime easier because you can pretend to be whoever you want to be. They can be anywhere in the world and they’re bullying people,” says the FBI.
Emergency Scheme. This is the most common scam. Scammers make up fantastic stories about adopting children and needing child support. Or you may be detained at a remote border crossing and have to pay a lawyer. These stories may seem implausible, but scammers spend months manipulating their victims into swallowing.
Blackmail :Scammers can ask victims to make video calls. Victims may be pressured to undress or engage in other intimate activities during the call. The crooks then claim to have made a video recording and threaten to publish it unless the victim sends money. Romance scam recovery is done by tracing the account details.
Money Mulling: This is a form of money laundering where criminals hire others to move illegal funds. Scammers can send victims money, mobile phones, or other valuables and ask them to return them somewhere. This type of fraud is particularly dangerous to victims’ safety as they can inadvertently become involved in the financial transactions of international criminal networks.
Phishing: Scammers can send victims phishing links to steal their personal information. For example, you can send a link that pretends to go to a social media page. This link actually leads to a malware website. Scammers may also send victims a link asking them to “verify their account.” Once the victim clicks, they are asked to provide their name, address, document number and even credit card details. This data can be used to open a bank account or take out a loan in the victim’s name. Mortgage recovery is done by capturing the assets for which the loan given.
Romance baiting scam: This is a relatively new system in which scammers encourage victims to participate in investment opportunities. For example, scammers can pretend to be financially independent women and when asked how they made their fortunes, they are associated with shady crypto investment schemes. Nearly half of lovebait scam losses are to people under the age of 35, given their tendency to target people.
HOW TO AVOID ONLINE DATING SCAM
Always consider the possibility that a match is a fraud: We recommend ignoring all messages of love and focusing only on the facts to determine if a potential partner is genuine.
Cross Check: Scammers can use internet photos or copy their bios from other sites or dating girlfriend profiles. For this reason, it may be helpful to do an online search to find out the person’s name, photo, and email address.
Be Careful With Requests For Money Or Personal Information: The biggest red flags in online dating are when someone asks for money, bank card details, or copies of personal documents. Users should remember that scammers can do this in a very discreet way. For example, a user may request a copy of his ID card to purchase a ticket.
Get Advice From People You Trust And Take It Seriously: Seasoned romance scammers may try to alienate their victims from friends and family, or pressure them to make impulsive decisions on their own.
CONCLUSION
If a user suspects that a profile is fraudulent, it is sufficient to report it to the platform and provide all details regarding the suspicion. If a user has provided financial information to someone on a dating site, immediately You should contact your bank, loan company, or other relevant financial institution and notify the dating site. It is always a good idea to report fraud to law enforcement or other government agencies responsible for fraud detection to discourage scammers from defrauding other victims.
