The main goal of scammers on dating sites are mainly women after 40, and ladies after divorce are especially prone. With the development of the Internet, dating sites are increasingly gaining popularity among users. Numerous popular smartphone apps appear, such as Tinder. Unfortunately, there, you can meet not only the love of your life but also scammers hunting for your money.
So, you decided to register on a dating site. What should you remember?
Register on a free website or buy a subscription. Choose the site that best suits your interests. Fill in the form for your profile. Download the best photos. Start chatting with people you like. Hopefully, you are lucky enough not to run across scammers straight away.
In addition to scammers who leave a trail of broken hearts and empty wallets, which we will describe below, that it is very difficult to distinguish truth from lies on dating sites.
Exaggeration of facts
On dating sites, people often embellish the truth. For example, a man who writes that his height is more than 5.9 but in reality does not exceed 5.3 or that he has a slim figure, but in reality, it is completely far from the description. Often, people post their old photos to appear younger (and a few pounds slimmer). It makes no sense to lie because in the end the truth will be revealed.
Making guesses
Dating sites exist because people are prone to making hasty conclusions. When we notice at least a small detail we love about a person, we add all the rest in our mid and fantasize about how perfect this candidate is. In reality, the image of a person and the life they have described may be far from our imaginary set of attributes and details. It doesn’t mean the person has lied; it may just be our overthinking and adding non-existent details because we wanted to have something to stick to.
If you want to avoid disappointment, do not build high expectations. Think about a person in the simplest way possible. Let them be the way they are and do not translate your perfect attribute of a partner on a person you barely know. But if you stay not high-demanding and think about the person as if they are just regular people with plenty of flaws and weak sides, you will be pleasantly surprised if you find yourself wrong.
Now let’s talk about some scam schemes often used by fraudsters on dating sites.
Falling in love with a crook
The main aim of dating scams is always to obtain access to your money, to lure them from you in one form or another. Various schemes may be used for this, for example, the scammers may tell you fairy tales about their relative who suddenly got ill and needs money for treatment or ask you to cash out money they send you coming up with an exciting story why they are unable to use their bank account or pay by card right now. You should be careful, as you might be under the risk of entering a money-laundering plan. Even if you do not know what you have been involved in, that will not prevent you from the engagement of the responsibility.
People who are trained to deceive others via the Internet will do anything to make you trust them. They are psychologists of a kind, and manipulation is a well-known technique for them. You do not give your money out to strangers on the streets, don’t you? So why would you financially help or support a person you barely know that you met on a dating site? Well, this is practically the same. No matter what they tell you, asking for money should be an alarming sign.
Strange links
Ordinary users often insert links to their favorite groups, travel destinations, and hobbies. Fraudsters often insert in their profiles links to low-quality spam sites where they try to sell you something or promise to tell you how to get rich quick. There may be also links to porn sites – this is another sign that the profile should not be trusted.
Always in a rush
At the beginning of a romantic relationship, feelings and emotions usually develop within a few weeks after meeting. Fraudsters often try to speed up this process – this is done not only through a large number of compliments but also by sharing details of their personal lives that they “never told anyone.” It is also typical that after just a few texts or chats, they begin to ask you to send them some money for various kinds of “urgent” needs – for example, their close relative got sick, or they have been robbed, so they ask you to urgently send them money. If you are asked for money – immediately stop all communication.
Online scammers often look for vulnerable users who are lonely on the Web and lack friendly attention. Yes, you can search for your love on the Web, but at the same time keep your mind clear. Knowing the typical types of online dating fraud, you can avoid scammers, and then you will have a better chance of finding your true love.