How to protect yourself from online dating scams?

What types of online dating scams?

Surfing the world of internet dating can be an exciting and fun way to meet potential partners. However, you may quickly discover that some things are not what they appear on certain sites and profiles. Although it is one of the fastest ways for singles to meet and build lasting relationships, there are certainly some people who use these sites for dishonest purposes.

Online dating scams are a form of scam in which a person creates a false identity online. Some criminals use these false identities to annoy or harass others online, or simply to flirt without commitment. But for romance scammers, it's all about money. They lure their victims into an online relationship and use it to extract money from them, sometimes thousands of euros..

Before registering, you should always be careful to choose a site for naughty encounters serious!

The warning signs of a romance scam

They're too good to be true. Scammers do everything they can to make themselves attractive to their victims. They look at their victims' profiles to identify things that are important to them. They combine their "perfect personalities" with attractive photos of strangers to make themselves even more attractive.

Their profiles are very sketchy. It is difficult to create a consistent false identity from scratch, which is why many scammers reduce their online profile to the bare minimum. They only contain a few photos and don't show many friends in relation to the person.

They can't meet you in person. Even though your online sweetheart pretends to love you desperately, he/she still has a reason why it is impossible for him/her to meet you in person. He/she usually pretends to live abroad, travel, work abroad or be stationed abroad as part of the military.

They're forgetting important details. Since online scammers often have several victims at the same time, they sometimes have trouble keeping all their stories in order. They may forget things you've told them about yourself or important events in your relationship.

They always have emergencies. The biggest and brightest of all red flags is that your online lover is constantly asking you for money to deal with some kind of emergency. He or she has health problems, emergency travel expenses, losses due to theft or other crime, family emergencies, and so on.

Protect yourself from online scams

Don't share your intimate photos. Never send intimate images, such as nude pictures or sex videos, to someone you have never met in real life. These images that you think are private could be used to blackmail you later.

Take it easy. Take your time to get to know someone you met online. Ask lots of questions and learn as much as you can about the person. Beware of people who want to get into a relationship quickly - it's one of the warning signs of a scam.

Meet him in real life. If the person you are talking to takes the relationship seriously, they should be interested in meeting you for a nice dinner. Especially if you met him or her on a booty call. If after several months of "relationships" you still haven't met each other in person, this is really not a good sign. Be wary if you have tried to meet one person several times and the other always finds an excuse at the last minute.

Don't send money. If someone you meet on the internet asks you for money, it's almost certainly a scam. Even if they promise to pay you back, you have to assume that you will never see the money again. If you are absolutely determined to send a certain amount, protect yourself by getting a written loan agreement. However, if the scammer uses a false name, it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to get your money back.

Closing Remarks

If you've tried to find love online, hearing about love scams can be discouraging. The more you learn about them, the easier it is to suspect that someone who expresses an interest in you online is after your money.

As long as you take reasonable precautions, such as checking a person's background and arranging a face-to-face meeting, there is nothing wrong with continuing an online relationship. Love scams are a part of life, but so is true love.