Online Dating Site Scammers – How To Spot Them

DON’T be a victim – Dating website users ‘conned out of millions’
In the one of several heart-breaking cases a women was conned out of £1.6 million in a series of targeted dating scams.  Could it be you?

In a sophisticated con lasting 10 months, London Met Police issued a warning after the victim, believing she was talking online to a successful engineer, turned out to be an unscrupulous scamming gang. The two men caught by the Mets cybercrime unit were sentenced to 3 years each.

Expert police teams dealing with fraud and cyber-crime report that while the number of romance scams they’re investigating are fewer than other web-based hoaxes, the financial losses which people suffer are far greater.

With reports of online dating scams rising by more than 30%, the cyber-crime and fraud team have investigated the loss of £4 million taken from 100 victims ruthlessly manipulated by men and women declaring their love for them.  It’s something that can affect people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. In another recent case a normally vigilant victim said that despite ‘my common sense’  telling me that his story wasn’t right, I sent three lots of money to a man claiming to be a US Marine living in the United States.

Do you fit their profile? Who’s most likely to become a victim?

Think you’ve found your perfect partner online who seems to be too good to be true?
Action Fraud advise this fits a typical profile of a dating scammer – then it’s likely that they aren’t who they say they are and in reality, are members of a criminal gang working together to target people more likely to have money.  Once they’ve gained your trust, they’ll ask for money for a range of well-rehearsed emotional reasons; all carefully crafted to pull at your heart strings. They’re very, very, clever and very experienced in manipulating those of us normally streetwise and sensible, so unless we’re aware of how they operate, any of us could fall victim to their tactics.  

Recognise a scammer and ARM YOURSELF WITH THE INFORMATION YOU NEED
Although anyone looking for a partner or love online is vulnerable, fortunately you can reduce the likelihood of being caught up in an online dating scam by understanding how they operate.  Understanding the profile and tactics of a typical dating scammer will arm you with the information you need to recognise scammers if you come across one and avoid being their next victim!

Online Dating Scammers – Their Playbook & How They Operate

ACTION FRAUD the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime have used their experience to piece together information on a typical  dating scammer, – how they work and the tactics they use.

The everyday tactics of an online dating scammer. What they’ll say & what they’ll do

  • They’re more likely to be from overseas, or may be UK based but tell you they’re overseas as the very last thing they’ll want to do is meet up with you. They don’t normally pick local victims who can track them down.  They’ll also want to communicate with you through your own e mail address and/or texts straight away, rather than through the more vigilant dating sites or chat room where you met.

  • Very gradually they’ll work to develop a long-distance relationship through emails, texting and phone calls. They’ll ask you lots of questions about yourself but won’t tell you much about them. They don’t answer basic questions about where they live and work. As the relationship develops, the exchanges become more intimate.

  • As you become more familiar with them they’ll probably send you what they say is their photograph and give you some kind of pet name or use endearing terms such as ‘darling’. After time they may then ask you for a comprising photos and/or even suggest you perform personal acts in front of a webcam, (especially if your female).

  • Once the scammers are confident that you have enough sympathy and desire for them, they’ll start asking you for money, normally small amounts to start with. They’ll tell you about a problem they are experiencing and ask you to help out by sending money.

  • Some typical scenarios they use if they claim to start arrangements to visit yo, include that they need money to pay travel costs, visa costs etc, or they’ve paid for a plane ticket which they will say has been stolen or they tell you that a family member or someone else they are responsible for is ill or has had an accident and they need money for medical treatment.

  • If you’ve sent intimate pictures, or they’ve recorded personal webcam contacts, they’ll blackmail you. They’ll also threaten to send the films or photos to your family, friends and work colleagues if you don’t give them the money they ask for.

  • Once you send them money once, they’ll keep coming back, providing more reasons to send them more and more money.

IDENTIFIED A DATING SCAMMER? REPORT THEM NOW

Have you been contacted by an online dating scammer?   What was their story?  What ways did you use to check out someone you thought sounded suspicious? LET US KNOW