Romance Scams 101 from RomanceScamsNow.com

BEWARE OF COMMON ONLINE DATING & ROMANCE SCAMS

FROM ROMANCESCAMSNOW.COMAN ON-LINE CATALOG OF SCAMMERS

www.RomanceScamsNow.com a McGuinnessPublishing® website

ROMANCE SCAMS ARE EVERYWHERE

• Who would have thought that something so beautiful as seeking true love online could be turned into something sinister? Sadly, online dating has also fallen victim to criminal minds who use it to scam unwary love seekers.

• Online dating scams have been so rampant that they have been dubbed the “sweetheart scams.”

• On-line Romance Scams pollute almost every Dating website in the world. There are only two types of sites that are relatively free of this:• Those with psychological profiling, such as eHarmony.com• Paid matchmaking services that physically screen each woman

and man• Ironically, there are only a few hundred scammers engaged in large

scale scamming – though thousands of individuals do it themselves


WHO ARE THESE SCAMMERS?


YOU HAVE MET & WILL MEET SCAMMERS

• Online dating scams can take many forms and for various reasons. The most common of these reasons is money. Simply put, it is their job to scam you!

• It’s very important that you understand how these scammers work, so you’ll know up front and can protect yourself from falling victim to these monster scammers.

• Statistically, on most dating sites anywhere from 1 in 2 to as high as 8 out of 10 women you meet are frauds

• While there are almost always “tells”, the most difficult and dangerous are the Real People Scammers. These are real people who live in countries where you can’t touch them (or so they think).


LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE

• It starts with their profile.

• These fraudsters usually copy and attractive write-up from someone else’s online profile for themselves to lure victims. They pose as women that have the attributes that appeal to their victims. But they are not all super attractive or young.

• Watch for the “red flags” in every form of communication:• Weird punctuation and capitalization • Shifting language styles and odd phrases• Heavy mentions of honesty and trust• Calling themselves a “lady” and “God Fearing” and “Hard

Working”• Including email addresses in their first blind contact message• Asking you to move to Yahoo or other chat immediately


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COMMON SCAMS

• Once they’ve made contact with you, these fraudsters are quick to build a trusting relationship, usually via email and online chat rooms, but also through text – since computer based texting is easy and cheap for them.

• The scams fall into fairly common types:• First they always need a favor – usually money• They had someone die, or a child needs something for schooling• They have medical bills, or they are stranded and need to buy their way

out• They want to come meet you but they need visas and passports• They are getting a new job, but need help bridging the time till they get

paid• They have evil family they need to buy off• They have an ex they need to buy off• Or they need you to buy them something like a laptop or a camera



HOW THEY ASK FOR THE MONEY

• The request fro money will come quick – within days or a couple of weeks at most from initial contact

• They will typically ask you to send money via Western Union or other Money Transfer Service

• Of course to receive it, they have to use a real name, so they ask that it be sent to the person they owe money – really themselves

• Western Union may in fact alert you asking if this person is someone you really know – they can’t tell you about any past reports, but this is a major red flag

• By the time you realize that you have been scammed, you’ll already be a couple of thousand dollars into the scammer.



QUICK PROOF OF LIFE TESTS

• Here’s what you need to know to test if you are talking to a scammer:• Ask where she lives, then look up the place (assuming it’s not

Africa) and ask about the place – like a specific restaurant – come on, everything is on-line

• Ask about education – many claim degrees or graduate degrees – they really know nothing about these – get details – you can call any college and university in the U.S. or Canada and confirm their degree

• If they say they lived in the U.S. check their state’s DMV – there are a lot of records available

• Ask for recent photos of their place – their home, apartment, town, etc. -African scammers don’t have any of this – the Real Scammers will

• Get them sending emails – look at the “properties” or “header” information for the IP addresses then “trace” them. They will slip up on comfortable victims and you will catch emails from wrong places



BE CAREFUL

• Be careful about the information you give out – you may be helping them use you and your photos as their next scam profile

• Never give our any financial information until you have know someone for months

• Never give out detailed family history, such as parents’ names, children's’ names, etc.

• Be careful of friending them on Facebook – all your life is their for them to take. Same for your photos online.

• But do look at their Facebook – look at their friends – are they all men of about your age? Hint hint.

• How long have they been on social media, how much activity – real people have a lot



THERE ARE REAL PEOPLE OUT THERE

• Don’t give up, but be careful, and don’t trust without verification. A real person will understand this – scammers will not – feel free to explain your reasons

• Remember, scammers mostly use the free trial periods to create new accounts – be very caution about new accounts on a dating site

• Just exercise proper precautions and know you will meet a scammer, so why not have fun with them?

• It is important that you report scammers to the website operator – when in doubt, report

• It is also important to share the information you have on scammers – we publish an expensive, detailed catalog of scammers, but we need your details! We will never share your identity, just the scammers.

• Be safe, but more importantly be smart!



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Romance Scams 101 from RomanceScamsNow.com

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