Scammers take advantage of people looking for romantic
partners, often via dating websites, apps or social media by pretending to be respective
companions. They play on emotional triggers to get you to provide money, gifts or
personal details.
They have even been known to telephone their victims as a
first introduction. These scams are also known as ‘cat fishing’.
Scammers typically create fake online profiles designed
to lure you in. They may use a fictional name, or falsely take on the
identities of real, trusted people such as military personnel, aid workers or
professionals working abroad.
Their profile on the internet dating website or their Facebook page is not consistent with what they tell you. For example, their profile picture looks different to their description of themselves, or they say they are university educated but their English is poor.
Dating and romance scammers will express strong emotions
for you in a relatively short period of time, and will suggest you move the
relationship away from the website to a more private channel, such as phone, email
or instant messaging.
They often claim to be from a western country or another
country, but they are travelling or working overseas.
Scammers will go to great lengths to gain your interest
and trust, such as showering you with loving words, sharing ‘personal
information’ and even sending you gifts. They may take months to build what may
feel like the romance of a lifetime and may even pretend to book flights to
visit you, but never actually come.
Once they have gained your trust and your defences are
down, they will ask you (either subtly or directly) for money, gifts or you’re
banking/credit card details. They may also ask you to send pictures or videos
of yourself, possibly of an intimate nature.
Often the scammer will pretend to need the money for some
sort of personal emergency. For example, they may claim to have a severely ill
family member who requires immediate medical attention such as an expensive
operation, or they may claim financial hardship due to an unfortunate run of
bad luck such as a failed business or mugging in the street. The scammer may also claim they want to travel
to visit you, but cannot afford it unless you are able to lend them money to
cover flights or other travel expenses.
Sometimes the scammer will send you valuable items such
as laptop computers and mobile phones, and ask you to resend them somewhere.
They will invent some reason why they need you to send the goods but this is
just a way for them to cover up their criminal activity. Alternatively they may ask you to buy the goods
yourself and send them somewhere. You might even be asked to accept money into
your bank account and then transfer it to someone else.
Warning - the above scenarios are very likely to be forms
of money laundering which is a criminal offence. Never agree to transfer money
for someone else. Sometimes the scammer
will tell you about a large amount of money or gold they need to transfer out
of their country, and offer you a share of it. They will tell you they need
your money to cover administrative fees or taxes.
Dating and romance scammers can also pose a risk to your
personal safety as they are often part of international criminal networks.
Scammers may attempt to lure their victims overseas, putting you in dangerous
situations that can have tragic consequences.
Regardless of how you are scammed, you could end up
losing a lot of money. Online dating and romance scams cheat many out of
millions every year.
The money you send to scammers is almost always
impossible to recover and, in addition, you may feel long-lasting emotional
betrayal at the hands of someone you thought loved you.
After gaining your trust – often waiting weeks, months or
even years – they tell you an elaborate
story and ask for money, gifts or your bank account/credit card details.
If you don’t send money straight away, their messages and
calls become more desperate, persistent
or direct. If you do send money, they continue to ask you to send more.
They don’t keep their promises and always have an excuse
for why they can't travel to meet you and why they always need more money.
Always consider the possibility that the approach may be
a scam, particularly if the warning
signs listed above appear. Try to remove the emotion from your decision making
no matter how caring or persistent the ‘prospective partner’ is.
Do an image search of your admirer to help determine if
they really are who they say they are? You can use image search services such
as Google or TinEye.
Be alert to things like spelling and grammar mistakes,
inconsistencies in their stories and
others signs that it’s a scam like their camera never working if you want to Skype each other.
Be cautious when sharing personal pictures or videos with
prospective partners, especially if
you have never met them before. Scammers are known to blackmail their targets
using compromising material.
If you agree to meet a prospective partner in person,
tell family and friends where you are going. It's strongly recommends you
do not travel overseas to meet someone you have never met before. Be wary of
requests for money. Never send money or give credit card details, online
account details, or copies of important personal documents to anyone you don’t
know or trust.
Avoid any arrangement with a stranger that asks for
up-front payment via money order, wire transfer, international funds transfer,
pre-loaded card or electronic currency. It is rare to recover money sent this
way.
Do not agree to transfer money for someone else: money
laundering is a criminal offence.
Be very careful about how much personal information you
share on social network sites. Scammers can use your information and pictures
to create a fake identity or to target you with a scam.
If you think you have been scammed, report it to the
website, app, or social media site where the scammer first approached you. Let
them know the scammer’s profile name and any other details that may help them
to stop others being scammed.
If you think you have provided your account details to a
scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.
Please report scams, every country would have a web page for this. This will helps so that others can be warned about current scams, monitor
trends and disrupt scams where possible.
Spread the word to your friends and family to protect
them.
Some web page address to report scams too
South Africa - Scam Busters
Australia - Scam Watch
UK - Action Fraud
USA - Report Scams
NETHERLANDS - Fraud Help Desk
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