Studies show that more than a third of couples met online. And by 2040, the share of such unions will be 70%. Of course, we are talking about dating not only on specialized sites. People find each other on thematic and professional forums and on social networks.
But remember that Facebook, the largest social network in the world, was originally a dating site for students at Harvard University. So, sites that specialize in finding soulmates like Ladadate — Ukrainian brides, or at least fleeting love, are an everyday reality. However, the popular internet environment is filled not only with lonely hearts but also with prudent swindlers.
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The Main Schemes of Fraud on Dating Sites
On dating sites, scammers can act in different ways. They have several efficient schemes, knowing which you can protect yourself. Most often, gullible and sentimental women of any age and a certain social status become victims of deceivers. The whole deception consists in luring money in various ways:
- your potential partner is in trouble and needs your financial help;
- your new acquaintance is ill, he needs money for treatment or surgery;
- he sent you an expensive gift, you just need to pay for the delivery, for which he will return the money to you, etc.
How to Recognize a Scammer on a Dating Site?
In fact, recognizing scammers on a dating site is easy. You should be concerned if:
- The pen pal does not call you by name, use a “bunny,” a “kitty,” and other diminutive words, as well as multi-language counterparts if they pretend to be foreigners.
- The interlocutor immediately insists on leaving the dating site and continuing to communicate via messengers or social networks.
- He does not write something new, does not talk about his day, and the like.
- Immediately after getting acquainted, the swindler confesses his love.
- The swindler does not answer your questions, writes lengthy letters with an abundance of compliments and confessions of his feelings.
How to Test a Candidate?
To make sure that it is not an admirer in front of you, but simply a scammer, arrange a check for him. How to do it:
- Ask a persistent candidate if he has profiles on other similar sites or social media. If he avoids the answer, then check it yourself: look for it through a search engine. As a rule, scammers use a fake first and last name and create one profile on one site, only to engage in fraud. Most likely, you are unlikely to find your “chosen one” anywhere else.
- You can check a candidate through simple questions. Look at the information in the profile about what the person writes about himself. Ask him questions related to his profession (more often the activities of a businessman are indicated), family, etc. Most often, scammers ignore questions, replace answers with another stream of compliments, or answer vaguely.
- Fraudsters use pictures from the internet and pass them off as their own. As a rule, this is a photo of successful people living luxurious life. Periodically ask him to send you fresh pictures taken at the current moment. The deceiver will find a thousand reasons to justify the impossibility of sending a photo now but promising to do so soon.
- Pay attention to the manner of virtual communication. Fraudsters do not differ in sincerity in feelings. Therefore, they use prepared text and template impersonal compliments — sweetheart, dear, beauty, etc. However, there are also deceivers with vivid imagination who can write beautifully and truthfully.
Safety Rules on Dating Sites
No matter how strange it may sound, you need to be careful when looking for love on dating sites. To do this, it is enough to follow some simple rules:
- When looking through the profiles of potential husbands/wives, you should not lose your head when you see a beautiful picture and equally worthy profile info. Vigilance must always be present.
- By posting information on a dating site, in fact, you make it public for everyone. Therefore, when filling out the questionnaire, publish only those data that you are not ashamed to share with everyone. The same rule applies to photographs. Do not post pictures that you will be ashamed of, for example, in front of your household.
- The candidate you like should be checked by entering his first and last name, as well as a picture, through any search engine on the internet. Information about the person in the photo will appear in the search results. As practice shows, scammers use other people’s pictures to attract attention.
- Many men are persistent with ladies in their demand to send intimate pictures. It is absolutely not worth doing this. Otherwise, it will become a reason for blackmail.
- Do not send money to a person whom you do not personally know, and even more so, do not give him personal information that facilitates the hacking of bank data and theft of funds.
- Show indifference to pictures and information about sick children or relatives where fundraising is required. In this way, scammers often hide behind to extort money.
Punishment for Scammers
It is hard to prove that in relation to the victim, whether it be a man or a woman, fraud took place. It is difficult to confirm that the money or property of the victims was precisely stolen under the influence of deceit based on their desire to find a soulmate, willingness to do anything for the sake of their other half.
However, it is not the victim who must prove the fraudulent theft, but the police officers. Therefore, if you still fell for the bait, you must turn to the police to bring the perpetrator to justice.
Conclusion
Dating on special sites is an excellent, but not always safe, way to improve your personal life. Always keep a sober mind and do not fall for beautiful pictures and pleasant conversations. Many scammers are good psychologists who know how to communicate with a specific person in such a way as to lure them into communication and manipulate them.
