In some ways online dating is safer than traditional dating, but there are scammers and con men operating both offline and online. Part of the solution is knowledge. Here are three online dating scams to watch out for. If you know about them you are much less likely to be taken in by them.
Money Laundering
This relies on the scammer having built up a relationship with the innocent single. In reality the scammer is trying to build up as many relationships with members of singles services as possible.
His or her purpose is then to ask you to set up a bank account that he or she can wire money to. There may be various plausible explanations given for this, such as a difficulty in processing money in his or her own country.
Once set up, money will pour into the account and the innocent single will then be asked to withdraw the money and send it back to the perpetrator.
There are many variations of this dating scam.
Accident Scenario
Again, this one relies on a relationship having been built up with the innocent single. The scammer posing as a legitimate single will then ask to meet the innocent single and a meeting is arranged.
On the day of the meeting a third person will contact the innocent single to say that his or her intended date has had an accident. Money is urgently needed for hospital treatment/ to get the person to hospital/ to pay for some other high expense.
Such scams depend upon the innocent single caring about the person they have formed a relationship with.
Business Proposal
Again the scammer must get to know his or her victim. This scam may move offline into a real world dating relationship before the scammer makes his or her move -- this relationship may not even have begun on the net.
A business proposal is made. The scammer claims to have invested large amounts already and will convince the victim that large profits are to be had. The victim parts with his or her money and the scammer runs off with it.
Many Variations
No doubt there are many variations of the above dating scams online and off, as well as others we have not covered here (see our page Internet Dating Scams and How to Avoid Them for more). Russian and Nigerian dating scams are probably the most prevalent, but Ghana, Kazan, Filipina and Lagos scams have been known to be operating. In fact no country is free from scammers, and not only in online dating by any means.
What they all have in common is that sooner or later and in some circumstances or other they will ask you for money. They may make it look as if your money is safe -- but if you give your money to anyone you have not known for years and whose friends and family are unknown to you, then you are taking a huge risk with your hard-earned income. The perpetrator may put you in a crisis situation where you don't have much time to think, as with the Accident Scenario above.
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As with all crime, a minority of people are involved in it and most of the people you meet online are not criminals. Due to the nature of the Internet though and the fact that you cannot see people face to face, scamming may be more prevalent than elsewhere. Offline you can get to know someone's friends and/or family as well as the person himself. Aim to use this safety method with someone you initially met online too -- in other words, meet and get to know someone in the real, offline world, and get to know his or her friends and family first before you give your full trust.
Online only? Once you have the advantage of time and of chatting by email and through other methods before you agree to meet someone, but you must get to know someone offline too before you can trust him or her.