My intense
research in the last two weeks came out with positive responses. In the course
of my inquiry, some of the victims shared step by step of how they are being
scammed. I think it will be of benefit to share the information with others. Here
are some tips on early warning signals which show that you are potential victim
of online dating scam
- They want to
communicate with you through instant messaging and, texts, rather than
through the dating website or chat room where you met.
- They ask you lots of
questions about yourself but do not tell you much about themselves.
- They quickly start
calling you by a pet name or use endearing terms such as ‘darling’
- They do not answer
basic questions about where they live and work
- Their profile
picture is too perfect; for example they look like an actor or Miss World
titleholder
- They start asking
you to send them money using a number of different scenarios such as:
- Claiming to be
military personnel based overseas who require funds for flights home or
early discharge from the forces.
- Citing medical
related issues they need money for such as a sudden need for surgery,
either for the fraudster or the fraudster’s family member.
- They’ve arranged to
visit you but need money to pay travel costs
CEO
of Get Safe Online, Tony Neate added: “There is nothing better than meeting
someone special and falling in love and online dating sites are a great way to
do this. Unfortunately, there are groups of people out there that want to take
advantage of this for their own ends. It is upsetting to see that online daters
are losing so much money to romance fraud, especially the individual who lost
£850,000. The actual figure is likely to
be much more though, as we strongly believe that this type of fraud is the most
under reported as people are just too embarrassed to come forward. "We are not saying do not go on these
sites, we are just urging people to stay vigilant and if you spot any of the
tell-tale signs we have highlighted, definitely let your head rule your heart!”
Culled from:
http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk
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