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Clues to IDing a Dating Scam on the Internet
When you’re out on the Internet, looking for love and wearing your heart on your sleeve, you hope that you are
making putting your best foot forward to look like the potential perfect mate for your fellow daters.
Unfortunately, you might also look like a great target for con artists. Far too often, Internet daters with love in
their eyes have gotten swindled by people who have played their heartstrings to milk them for cash and more.
Finding love online has worked for tons of people, but if you want to be one of them, you have to be savvy about
spotting red flags of a bad or dangerous situation. When you are evaluating your new online friends, keep an eye
out for these clues to help protect yourself from falling victim to the scammers.
The first big clue you should look for is inconsistencies in the stories your new online friend emails you. You do
this naturally when you meet people in the real world, but with time and space between emails, it might take a
closer look for you to do this when you have met someone on the net. Does the person the other end tell the same
stories over and over again, but with a little difference each time? Does the tone or voice of the email seem to
change? Does the person you talk to seem to better at spelling or grammar in some emails than others? All of these
things can be clues that you are not just talking to one love sick person but rather a team of con artists setting
you up as the perfect mark.
The next clue is if the person talking to you online is interested in asking question after question about you but
actually reveals very little about them. Sometimes, when you have stars in your eyes and are enjoying the attention
it can be a little difficult to realize that deep conversation has all been one sided. After a conversation, ask
yourself what you could tell someone about your online love. If you can’t come up with anything personal about them
beyond where they live and their name, you might have been milked for the kind of information that makes it easier
to swindle you.
This next clue is a little touchy, but it is an important one. Check out that picture that your online friend sent
to you. Are you a little bit in shock over just how attractive they are? Gorgeous people need love to, and sure,
some of them do look for it online. But Internet hustlers often turn photos of bikini models and body builders into
personal photos for their online profile. Does this photo really match who you think this person is? If you’re
suspicious, trust your gut.
This last clue seems a little bit obvious on the surface, but in practice it may be a little harder to apply than
you think. If your online dating friend asks for money, you should definitely run the other way. It can be easy to
scoff at the idea that you would even consider handing over your cash to a stranger online. When a person has been
showering you with attention and affection, engaging in long, in depth conversations with you, seemingly eager to
invite you into their life, and then they have a little “emergency” and need your help, it is much less easy to say
no. You may feel like you are lending money to a friend in need. What you’re really doing is giving money to a
stranger. If they ask, you should cut them off.
The bottom line for online dating is to look for these signs, but above, listen to the alarm bells that go off in
your own head. If you think it isn’t right, it probably isn’t.
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