We respect your privacy. 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.
What You Need to Know About Romance Scams
Dating Scam Websites - What You Need to Know About Romance Scams
We have all heard of the classic email scams of Nigerian princes but a new costly scam is on the rise. All these scams start of a basic level of greed. The perpator wants money and the victim wants love and attention. Often you are the first to message without knowledge the dangers on the other side. Once they have a message from you they pull up as much information on you as possible. Social media is where these predators get a lot of information, a simple photo for you is a treasure trove of information for them. Before you even write a second message they have become your stalker.
10 Ways to Avoid Online Dating Scams
When you are ready to get out into the dating scene, you want to believe that everyone you encounter is in the same boat as you. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage and strength to join an online dating site or social group. With all the energy it took to put yourself out there, you are probably thinking that others feel the same way as you and that everyone is coming from a place of positivity and wanting to find someone special. Unfortunately, there are some dating scams out there, and if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Romance scams are a nightmare. They often wreak emotional devastation and occasionally financial ruin, so how do you spot a romance scam? It is not an easy question to answer.