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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In reply to Hey all, I could use some by ConcernedNiece
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 purpose for the transaction.
They meet people online, create a relationship, and often ask their new sweetheart to use her own account or open a new account. (You said the person told your aunt he would open the account.)
But the next part of the story is the same: the scammer asks the victim to receive and transfer money - which may be stolen money.
If you open an account for a scammer, your name is on the bank account. If you transfer stolen money for someone, your name and personal information is 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. The FBI calls this a money mule scam.
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In reply to Hi Bridget! Thanks for by ConcernedNiece
I don't know all the different ways scammers operate. Scammers may change the way they operate when people catch on to their stories.
It's important to look at the big picture: If someone you don't really know asks you to wire money, it's probably a scam. You can lose money or personal information and get in legal trouble.
There are warning signs of a scam in your aunt's story. She met someone on an online dating site. Soon after she met him, he asked her to move the conversation off the dating site. They never met in person, but in just 3 months, he formed a relationship with her and said he wants to marry her. He claims to be a professional working for an international company, but asks someone he just met to wire money for him.
He is pressuring your aunt to help him. He tells stories about health emergencies to pressure her to cooperate with him. If she gets involved with this and transfers money, her name and information will be on the wire transfer forms. She could be helping a criminal. She could lose money and personal information and get in legal trouble.
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