As a rule dating websites experience frequent romance or dating scam complaints per months. Actually there is no exact data as it depends on website business experience and reputation. But in general the number varies from 10 to 100 per months in average.
Such frequency is connected with social platforms and private emailing, any different party to skip from website to personal contact. Dating scam has become overwhelming today, con artists can even call to their victims as it is very easy for them to find a telephone number. Such kind of crime is called ‘catfishing’.
Scammers mainly act via profiles created exceptionally, that aimed to lure potential victims. Keep in mind that as a rule name is not real and related profile details are false or stolen. Indeed serious profession like mining engineering or military forces mainly indicated with working overseas, hence, this criteria must turn your attention to probable scam.
Basically, romance and dating scammers tie you up with serious intentions and argumentally dangerous (pure love, cannot live, eat, sleep) emotions. But that may happen in a shortened period of time. Thereafter your interlocutor will invite you to skip from dating website to more intimate platform for one on one communication. Besides, they will insist on stable and real relationship to forward to email or mobile phone. They will text you nights and days.
Usually they live far from your place, and this fact makes your connection so romantic. And probably such circumstances will strengthen your relations, scammer will obtain all your attention with unusual trust by sharing some intimate life stories and private problems. Scammers will send you gifts just for nothing, something special and romantic, cards, candles, photo frames and etc. They will devote music or will produce some special video for you with your photos. One day a visit will be planned but never realized.
They act secure and wait until your vigilance will fall down they will create a problem, share with you and by all means ask for a financial help. Or they probably will describe the situation in such a way that you will offer help by yourself. So the last thing is to find out your banking details for personal account. Hence, using your bank account details lead to disappearing.
Let us explain in details what is going on.
Generally a con artist need an urgent sum of money for some private reason. Namely, for hard treatment of disease complications of relative or parent. Usually insurance is not listed therefore emergency is for operation or for postoperative course. Sometimes their project somewhere in Jordan has failed and they experience a hardship, mining had unfortunate run or business needs a sudden reconstruction. Or you will also be offered to transfer money through your personal bank account to someone else. Besides a scammer will inform you about the idea of travelling to your place but certainly with no means to come right now. The argumentation is flight prices and visa expenses. Thus, a scammer will make a conclusion that there is you, the only person who is able to help.
Very often you may receive hasty parcels with laptops or other different gadgets in order to resend them to another recipient. Hence, with your help scammers cover their illegal manipulations. In case you are frightened to resend them, you will be offered to purchase necessary goods and send them, the money are promised to be returned. But this is not true.
Money laundering leads to criminal offence, we do not recommend you to proceed any requested money operations for unknown person or someone you have never seen in real life, as well as someone from a dating website.
Apparently a scammer will offer you to help with transferring a very large cut or even gold out of the country they work or live to any other where bank accounts allow to receive it. In this case probably they need to cover processing fees. Guess who will pay? Sure you will, banking expenses are not so high, aren’t they?
Just remember that usually scammers work in groups, furthermore they create special illegal networks for deceiving people online. Apart from being catfished you may be put into danger. Unless you ignore to inform the police about your dating adventure and are frightened of gossips and news morgerings, you are under the risk. The risk is not only magnificent rip off, but heartbreak. And as you know psychological issues are to be experienced even harder.
Every year dating scam deceives a million of Australian dating website members (ACCC, 2017).
Remember that not only betrayal is the obvious result of your romance affair with a scammer but your funds lost. In most cases it is difficult to follow the scam schemes and return the money as they act immediately.