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How to Avoid a Romance Scam When Using Online Dating Sites

All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story. Just over a year ago, the Department of Justice announced that seven men—six from Nigeria and one from South Africa—had pleaded guilty to conning tens of millions of dollars from Americans via online dating sites. According to the FBI, romance scams and similar confidence scams cost consumers more money than any other kind of Internet fraud. The FBI says it may be embarrassing for victims to report this type of fraud scheme because of the personal relationships that are developed, so the real numbers are probably higher.

As one result, fear of a horrible first date is just one of the things a would-be online dater has to worry about. Eventually a pitch for money comes. Often the scammer will say an emergency situation has arisen and money is needed fast to avoid dire consequences. This makes it hard for the victim to do due diligence. The scammer might say that an immediate family member has a medical emergency and needs money for treatment, or that he has been wrongly arrested and needs help with bail money and legal support.

Copy the images your online correspondent has posted to his or her profile, then run them through a reverse-image search engine, such as TinEye or Google Images. The website Scamalytics maintains a blacklist of scammers who use false pictures. A little online stalking can go a long way. Type the name of the person you met online into Google or Bing and see what comes up. You might not be able to surface information like criminal records, but from their social media profiles, LinkedIn page, and other information you find, you should be able to get a sense of whether what they are telling you comports with the facts.

Sometimes, it may be wise to dig deeper.

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For example, if a person you met online claims to run a business abroad, call the U. Embassy to confirm that the business exists.

If you are asked to send money and feel so inclined, run the whole scenario by someone you trust. Choose a friend or someone from your church or community who is less emotionally invested than you are. If you must move the conversation over to your smartphone, don't tell the other person your number. This doesn't mean that you have to give someone a fake number; there are plenty of free mobile instant messaging services—WhatsApp, Skype, Google Voice , and Facebook Messenger are only a few examples—that can be used to message someone freely without having to compromise your real phone number.

If the person to whom you're talking refuses to use any mode of conversation except your phone number, there's a decent chance that they're more interested in the number than in the conversation. Document your interactions with the person. If you suspect that the person with whom you're conversing is attempting to scam you, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that you have evidence against them: Refrain from deleting conversations or other forms of communication. Take screenshots of the conversations.

Stop talking to the person if need be. There's nothing wrong with cutting off contact with someone, especially if you think that they might be a scammer. If you have a bad feeling after interacting with a person online, you don't owe them your time. Many dating sites will allow you to block the person to whom you're talking. As long as they don't have your email address or phone number, doing this will prevent them from being able to contact you at all.

If the person becomes unreasonably outraged or sends threats your way, be sure to take screenshots and report the person's profile to the dating service. Report scams to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Naturally, you should also report the scammer to the site on which you were scammed. What should I do if a man asks for my full name and address so he can send me gifts from overseas? Not Helpful 15 Helpful Pay careful attention to whether there are any inconsistencies in their stories. Also, beware of anyone who addresses you with "Dear Not Helpful 26 Helpful Should I trust my gut when speaking to a someone through an online dating service?

You shouldn't trust anybody online until you have met them in person. This is especially for dating sites.

How to Spot an Online Dating Scammer - wikiHow

Not Helpful 30 Helpful My online suitor for eight months would like to transfer his account from another country to my account. It's a big amount.

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I haven't met the guy before. I don't believe he could easily trust me since we met only online. Is there a sign of fraud in this? He would need your account info.

Profile Warning Signs

Once he has that, he can withdraw money from your account. Have him open an account with your bank, and transfer the money to that account. Once that is done, and in time, he can add you to that account. Once you see that all is good, then you could have him transfer it to your account, but I would encourage you to keep separate bank accounts, just in case things don't work out.

My gut though, is telling me he is a very patient scammer. Not Helpful 18 Helpful How long should you communicate on site before giving someone your number? Online isn't the best place to hand over your number. Suggest a meet-up in a public place instead. Not Helpful 1 Helpful How do I get more pictures of someone online who I think might be a scammer? Make this a condition for you two to talk any further. If you pursue this conditional stance, and the other person gets mad or says he's hurt, walk away.

Not Helpful 14 Helpful I have a friend that uses a dating site and the women he's speaking to lied about their age. Now apparently her father is making threats to him unless he sends money via Western Union. The phone number is on the other side of the states and she is threatening to get the law is involved. What should he do?

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He should report this threat to the site and see what they do. Then, it's best to get him to tell police or another family member on the issue because he is a victim of extortion. Help him to see he is not the one in the wrong. Not Helpful 23 Helpful Can they still be scamming you even if they don't ask for money?

Do they contact you once you call them scammers? Some scammers find ways to get your money without asking for it. Some scammers will disappear if you call them scammers, but some will try to convince you otherwise. Not Helpful 22 Helpful Should I trust a girl who won't give me her phone number or let me see her Facebook account? If she contacted you first that might be a red flag, but if you contacted her first, she might be trying to be cautious.

Anatomy of Online Dating Scams - How Not to Become a Victim of Cyber-romance

Look for other signs. Not Helpful 9 Helpful If someone I met online is always spending money on me, and then asking me to send them money in return, could these be signs of a scam? Scammers don't usually spend money on their victims, rather they demand money from their victims and it never stops. However, spending money on you and then turning around and asking for money could be a case of bait and switch to lower your guard, so be careful. Ask why they need money so badly if they are spending it on you, as it'd just be easier if they kept that money for their own needs!

Not Helpful 25 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Already answered Not a question Bad question Other. Tips Unfortunately, encountering online scammers is a very real possibility. Romance scams are the leading cause of lost money due to scams, and somewhere around 12 percent of people who use online dating have reported running into a scammer. Refraining from answering this question or saying something snarky like "I work" will often dissuade them from pursuing your profile. Searching for a person on job sites like LinkedIn may help you find the person or people on which a scammer is basing their profile.

Certain speech patterns could indicate that they are a scammer. Poor English and nonsense words indicate that they probably aren't in the United States. Warnings Remember the Golden Rule of online interaction: Never give out your dating service account password.