Many people
use the internet for the business and entertainment portions of their lives, so
it makes sense that some would also try to find love online. Internet dating
scams take multiple forms, but always involve a con artist exploiting the
feelings of a lonely victim to get money or gifts. A person searching for
romantic partners online is much more vulnerable to emotional deception.
Victims are typical female, divorced, and between 50 and 65 years old, but
anyone seeking romance in a sensitive emotional state could be scammed. Learn
the types of dating scams online before you start, so you feel confident in
trying to find your soul mate.
Recent Internet Dating Scams
1. Online Dating Services
The type of dating scams most people know begin through online dating services. Con artists create fictitious
profiles using fake photos and descriptions to reach a wide variety of possible
victims. They talk with you for weeks or months and engage in private
conversations over the phone or through text messaging. They wait until you
begin feeling sentimental towards them and then pretend to be in love with you.
Exploiting your romantic feelings, they ask for money or gifts for many
different things. Scammers say they need a passport or plane ticket to return
to see you. Or they assert they need money to pay off medical debt or care for
an ailing family member. If you feel uncomfortable, they guilt you into paying
by insisting the money reflects how much you love them.
2. Blackmail
Some people looking for love also
enjoy private interests, like odd sexual fetishes, they wish to share with a
romantic partner. Criminals committing dating scams seek out these people to
record or photograph them in an embarrassing situation. They then blackmail the
victim to prevent the posting of the videos or pictures on social media or send
them directly to their employer, family, and friends. Prior to blackmailing,
some scammers will entice a victim to purchase them a ticket to visit them and
live out a personal fantasy.
3. 419 Scam
419 dating scams occur when a con
artist contacts a potential victim through email and pretends they need someone
to marry, so they can inherit millions from a deceased relative. Similar to the
online dating service schemes, scammers form a serious relationship with you
through lengthy, personal conversations, false hopes of marriage, and romantic
poems. Once you fall in love they extort you for all they can. Asking for money
to fly to see you, but never showing up. Or even asking you to visit them with
a gift and then beating, robbing, and, sometimes, murdering you when you
arrive.
4. Military Impersonation
Scammer chose to impersonate
soldiers and other members of the United States military since it affords them
an immediate respect and trust from their possible victims. Military
impersonators steal profiles, names, and photos of real military members to
legitimize the dating scams. They allege that they intend to retire soon and
want to settle down and fall in love after they finish their deployment outside
the country. When you feel emotionally connected they ask for money to keep in
contact, to help locals, and a multitude of other things to keep you giving.
You wire transfer the funds over and over until they stop communicating or you
recognize the scam.
