Internet Dating: Falling Prey To Online Dating Scams
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011As the world of internet dating grows, so does the amount of complaints being reported to governments around the globe on internet dating scams. And although, no one thinks that it could happen to them, they soon find themselves mixed up in an Internet fraud campaign with a list of victims that continue to grow in size.
When you meet someone on a dating website and begin exchanging emails, pay attention to their response time. Determine if there is an appropriate latency in their responses or if they are always online ready to answer your communications. Some scammers set up email accounts to automatically respond with predetermined retorts. Pay attention to their writing methods and ensure that they stay consistent in their spelling and tone with each response. Not all people need to be an English major and many do not know how to use spell check, but there should be some type of pattern in all of their communications that remains constant. When sharing personal information about yourself, make certain that you are receiving as much information about them as you are providing about yourself. Often scammers direct the focus of the conversations on their victims in order to find an area of vulnerability, which they can later use to manipulate their victims. Protecting yourself can be as simple as utilizing some caution when communicating with someone you just met online.
In order to set up a relationship with their potential victims, scammers take their time and build a thorough profile on dating websites. Once they chose their victim or victims, as they often run their con on more than one person at a time, they do whatever they have to do to gain the victims trust and build confidence in their relationship. They may even send them gifts such as flowers or candies. Once they a solid relationship with their victim is established, they will find themselves with a dilemma that only their victim can help them out of.
Often, the scammer poses as an American citizen who just so happens to be working overseas in places like Russia or Nigeria. They love their jobs and make decent money; however their boss pays them in money orders, which they cannot cash in the country they are currently in. So, they ask the victim if they could send the money orders to them in the States to cash and then wire the money back to them.
At this point, the victim is more than willing to comply. These transactions usually occur numerous times until one day the bank contacts the victim, who is now legally responsible for the money.
The way the scam works is a money order is purchased for a small amount of money and then altered to look as if it was for a much larger amount. The victims of the scam are often cleaned out of their savings, while the scammers move on to the next victim.
Internet dating continues to grow in size, as does the number of dating scams that crop up throughout the globe. Enter each relationship on-line with the same amount of caution as you would with any new relationship. Trust in yourself more than you trust in another. If something feels wrong in the relationship, it usually is.
Needless to say, the first thing that people see in others is the appearance. Many single people find online dating more convenient these days. It’s better to go for a paid site than a free one. online dating | Internet dating