Online
dating sites work hard to eliminate scammers from their sites. That said, it is
inevitable that some profiles are fake and yet get past fraud checks. These
form the basis of cyber fraud related to girlfriend scams and other potential
romance scams. No one wants to be a victim of a scammer, yet few people know
what to watch out for. Some of the most notorious romance scams (including the
treacherous girlfriend scams) are being discussed here, in the hopes of helping
folks to differentiate between the scams and not fall prey to them.
#1 Nigerian/Ghana Emergency Scam
One of the
most notorious forms of cyber fraud in the dating world, Nigerian and Ghanaian
scams are widespread. Scammers are aware that people are catching on to the
scam and therefore, pretend to be from “bona fide” countries like Australia,
Canada and the UK.
With a fake
identity in place, the scammer proceeds to establish a bond. Communication goes
on for weeks and even months. You think you know them as a result of this. The
standard scam is that some sort of emergency necessitates you to share your
cash (and sometimes even your bank account/credit card details) with the
scammer to ensure that the “emergency” is nullified. The basic plot can range
from businessmen who have had accidents in Nigeria for work, to helpless ladies
being stranded in Ghana. Asking for charity donations or money for sudden
medical emergencies is also a ploy used by these scammers. The emergency is the
only way to exert pressure on you and get you to part with your cash.
#2 Plane Ticket/Visa Scam
This is a
ploy used by Russian as well as Filipino scammers to make off with your money.
In this type of cyber fraud related to girlfriend scams or a romance fraud,
this generally involves a story where the loved one is unable to visit you due
to lack of money. So your “girlfriend” then asks you to send cash for the visa
or plane ticket. When the trip fails to materialize, they will think up some
excuse or vanish into thin air. Rest assured, neither will you see the money or
them ever.
Scanned
copies of tickets may also be sent to convince you of the genuineness of the scam.
The aim is to convince you that a last minute glitch stopped them from visiting
you and they will then request for even larger amounts.
#3 Medical Emergency Scam
In this
cyber fraud or dating fraud, the online partner will be faced with a “medical
emergency” such as a brain tumor operation they cannot afford. Someone
pretending to be their doctor may even call you. By coming up with various
medical complications, the scammer will try to get as much money as she or he
can. Most scammers will be very adept at cooking up stories to land the perfect
recipe for a scam.
#4 Advance Fee Scam
Also called
the Nigerian or 419 cyber fraud, this cyber fraud/romance scheme involves
around asking for advance fee to recover huge sums of money that your “special
someone” claims to have. The real deal is that they will make off with the fee
and not give you a single cent of the supposed gold or cash, and neither will
they give you the time of the day after that.
#5 Fake Police Scam
This scam
is even more ingenious. The cyber fraud or romance scam revolves around first
swindling the person and then pretending to be the police. To top it all off,
they will ask for money to catch the criminal. This romance scam is unusual
because people generally don't have an idea of how law enforcement in other
countries work and may be swindled by the scammer.
