\nTrying out online dating for the first time or a seasoned dater? Maybe you are one of the hordes of people who look to online dating sites this time of year, when\u00a0sites typically see a surge in sign-ups before Valentine’s Day. Online dating can be fun and convenient, but falling for an romance scam can be costly. Falling in love with a con artist has consistently been ranked as one of, if not, the most expensive scams for the victims who have shared their stories with Fraud.org.<\/p>\n
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In 2015, NCL received more than 80 complaints from consumers who were approached by con artists seeking to defraud them through a romantic scheme. Unfortunately, falling for this scam can be extremely costly. It has consistently been ranked as one of, if not, the most expensive scams for the victims who have shared their stories with us. In many cases, consumers report sending tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars to the scam artists.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not hard to see why. Love is a powerful emotion. Most of us would do practically anything to help out a friend or loved one in need. Fraudsters know this, which is why they devote significant time and energy to developing friendships and \u201clove\u201d with their marks. However, these criminals aren\u2019t looking for a soulmate. They\u2019re looking for victims that they can wring every last cent out of.<\/p>\n
In many of the stories we hear from consumers, the scams begin the same way. The victim is first approached on an online dating website (Match.com was frequently mentioned in our complaints), a social media platform such as Facebook, or another type of online forum. The con artist may claim to be interested in the victim romantically. When the victim responds, their new \u201cfriend\u201d tells them a story about how they are located far away from the victim, often overseas.<\/p>\n
As the relationship develops and false trust is built, the \u201cfriend\u201d asks the victim to send money to help them out of some fake situation. The \u201cfriend\u201d\u2014who is, in reality, a con artist who is likely running the same scheme on other victims\u2014may claim that they need the money to come visit the victim, for medical bills, to get out of jail, or some other reason. If the victim agrees to pay, there will inevitably be more requests for money to cover other fictitious expenses until the victim comes to realize it is a scam and stops paying, or worse, runs out of money to give.<\/p>\n
So how can you spot a romance scam and avoid falling victim? Here are red flags that the person you\u2019re dealing with is after your cash, instead of your heart:<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve been approached by someone you think could be a romance scammer or if you\u2019ve already fallen victim, DON\u2019T keep speaking with the person who approached you. Ignore their emails, phone calls, IMs, or other communications. Instead, use the online dating site\u2019s abuse flagging system to mark the account as suspicious and file a complaint at\u00a0Fraud.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n