If you’re divorced, there will likely come a time when you’re ready to get back out there and find love once again. But, keep in mind that scammers on online dating sites are always looking for easy targets and you’re profile may make you seem more vulnerable than you actually are.
Internet romance scams are sprouting in almost every corner of the internet and anyone who has online access is a target to scammers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people fall for internet romance scams and this is costing hundreds of millions of dollars for the victims. Just in the U.S. alone, the annual tally was recently estimated to be around $230 million. This is quite a sum but this is actually just a small portion of the actual losses since only around 15% of internet romance scam incidences are reported. In addition to this, almost nobody is able to recover money lost via online dating scams; which is why various government agencies are focusing on prevention. Below is a list of what you can do to avoid falling victim to internet romance scams in 2021.
Use the Dating Site for their App for Initial Conversations
Fraudsters will want to quickly move to a platform of their choice so that they can start phishing for your information. Beware of someone wanting to get too close too soon.
Pay Attention to Details
Liars get caught in the details so be sure to pay attention to what someone says about himself or herself. Try to verify information if you can.
Watch Out for Text Scripts
Scam artists know what to say to manipulate anyone so if something sounds too good to be true or too well written, you can scan the web to check if they’re common text scripts used in online dating scams.
Check Where Emails Come From
If you doubt where someone is, you can follow online tutorials on how to check the IP addresses of emails to know if the sender is at least where they claim to be.
Scrutinize Photos
Fraudsters use fake photos that you can easily verify via a reverse image search or Google search. If the same photo shows up with another name attached to it, then you likely almost fell for an online dating scam.
Double Check Where Photos Are Taken
You can check where an image was taken by looking up its metadata. Some scam artists forget to change this when using fake photos.
Use Video Chat for Verification
A catfish or a fake will make up reasons not to use video chat. Using video chat can also make sure that you are talking live to someone and it would be harder for them to lie that way.
Do Not Accept Social Media Contacts from People You Do Not Know
Scammers often pose as someone else to fish for information that they can use to make you fall for them.
Know That Soldiers Won’t Ask for Your Money
Fraudsters commonly pose as soldiers who are stuck on a mission in another country. They will pretend that they need your money to go home because their mission is top secret and cannot be charged on their card. Classified information like this won’t be leaked by real soldiers no matter what.
Do Not Send Money to People You Have Not Met in Person
Anyone can pretend to be anybody online. Someone who is faking things will go away if they cannot get anything material from you. Never send money to people you haven’t spent time with and person and completely trust.
Now that you are armed with these handy tips, you can better take control of your online search for a new soul mate. Just remember to take the reins and really know who you’re dating, before you fall in love once again.
Michael Smith
Michael Smith is a relationship blogger for Haywood Hunt & Associates Inc. They are a full-service private investigation agency located in Toronto, which specializes in cheating spouse investigations. To learn more about Haywood Hunt & Associates and how they can help click https://www.thedivorceangels.com/vendor/haywood-hunt/