A Warning To Those Looking For Love

         A Warning To Those Looking For Love

If you are looking for love online, it is important that you are careful. Many people are becoming the victims in what are termed as "Romance Scams" & "Dating Scams."

What Are Romance Scams or Dating Scams?

During a romance or dating scam, most often people are duped into believing that they are speaking with a person who is actually a ‘creation’ of a scam artist. The scam artist eventually woos the unknowing victim to gain access to their money or bank account or by getting them to unknowingly commit fraud on their behalf.

Most of these dating & romance scams seem to originate from, and are prevalent in West Africa (especially Nigeria), Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand and the Philippines. Remember that when someone claims to be contacting you from a location, it does not mean they are actually there. Also, some make up elaborate stories claiming to be helping people in poor areas of the world to make themselves appear to be more of a humanitarian.

The scam artist relies on several tools-

Appealing Photos For The Perfect Romance Scam
These photos are usually of models or taken from sites and are often not the person that you are communicating with during online interactions.

Dream Profiles For The An Alluring Dating Scam
The scam artist knows what most people are looking for and they will create the seemingly perfect person. Emotionally open, caring and often seeking a monogamous relationship and marriage for women and sex for men.

Flattering Correspondence To Suck You Into A Romance Scam
Often kept on file, emails and letters are often copied from one victim to another while offering flattering messages full of ‘unconditional love’. Using song lyrics and poetry, the scam artists create the illusion of a romantic, long distance lover.

Love & Lust For Irresistible Dating Scams
Often scammers will target men with lusty pictures and dialog (meanwhile many of the scammers are men themselves) and will target women with profiles of a widower who is looking for love once again.

Marriage Proposals For The Final Grooming Of A Romance Scam
Often women are the scam of these, however it does occur to men, especially in mail order bride cons. The scam artist knows that once you have accepted a marriage proposal you will be more ready to part with your money to help them out in some way.

Who Is At Risk From Romance Scams?

We are all targets. The counties where the romance scam artists focus their efforts tends to be on the U.S. and U.K., however no one is immune. Anyone looking for love on the Internet is at risk because scammers are known to target every sort of dating site including niche sites like religious, gay, professional, etc.