Not everyone using online dating sites is looking for love. Scammers create fake online profiles using photos of other people — even stolen pictures of real military personnel. They profess their love quickly. And they tug at your heartstrings with made-up stories about how they need money — for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel. Why all of the tricks? They’re looking to steal your money.
As if all that isn’t bad enough, romance scammers are now involving their victims in online bank fraud. Here’s how it works: The scammers set up dating profiles to meet potential victims. After they form a “relationship,” they come up with reasons to ask their love interest to set up a new bank account. The scammers transfer stolen money into the new account, and then tell their victims to wire the money out of the country. Victims think they’re just helping out their soulmate, never realizing they’re aiding and abetting a crime.
Here are some warning signs that an online love interest might be a fake. They ask you to:
- chat off of the dating site immediately, using personal email, text, or phone
- wire money using Western Union or Money Gram
- set up a new bank account
Did you know you can do an image search of your love interest’s photo in your favorite search engine? If you do an image search and the person’s photo appears under several different names, you’re probably dealing with a scammer. And if the person’s online profile disappears a few days after they meet you, that’s another tip-off.
Here’s the real deal: Don’t send money to someone you met online — for any reason. If your online sweetheart asks for money, you can expect it’s a scam.
Unfortunately, online dating scams are all too common. There may be tens of thousands of victims, and only a small fraction report it to the FTC. If this happens to you, please report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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This sounds like a scam. He will probably keep asking for money and telling stories, but not come to see you.
The person said he would come to see you, but suddenly he had an emergency and asked for money. You sent him money after the first emergency, then he had another emergency and asked for more money. You gave him money after the second emergency, so he asked for money again, and you helped him. Many scammers follow this pattern. They continue to tell stories and ask for money, but they never come to see the person. The scammer's friends make phone calls or send email to help with the scam. The friends pretend to be immigration workers or customs officials.
In reply to Alexander Alastair supposedly by Scepticalsis
Some scammers use people to help them hold and transfer stolen money. They don't reveal that the money is stolen - they tell a story to hide the purpose for the transaction. They meet people online, create a relationship, and ask the person to use her bank account to receive and transfer money.
If you do this for a scammer, your name is on the bank account and on the money transfer forms. If you get involved with one of these schemes, you could lose money and personal information, and you could get into legal trouble. Your bank may close your account.
In reply to About 3 months ago I met a by Seriously
This sounds like a scam.
Some scammers use people to help them transfer stolen money. They don't reveal that the money is stolen - they tell a story to hide the reason for the transaction. They meet someone online, create a relationship, and ask their new sweetheart to use her bank account or open a new account to receive and transfer money.
If you do this for a scammer, your name is on the bank account and on the money transfer forms. If you get involved with this scheme, you could lose money and personal information, and you could get into legal trouble. The bank may close your account.
If you tell him your account username and password, he can take your money.
In reply to About 3 months ago I met a by Seriously
Pagination