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Romance
Scams
A Warning When
Looking For Love
If you are
looking for love online, it is important that you are careful.
Many people are becoming the victims in what are termed as "Romance
Scams" & "Dating Scams."
|
Lisa
S. Lawless, Ph.D., C.E.O.
HolisticWisdom.com Founder |
What
Are Romance Scams or Dating Scams?
During a romance
or dating scam, most often people are duped into believing that they
are speaking with a person who is actually a 'creation' of a scam artist.
The scam artist eventually woos the unknowing victim to gain access
to their money or bank account or by getting them to unknowingly commit
fraud on their behalf.
Most of these dating
& romance scams seem to originate from, and are prevalent in West
Africa (especially Nigeria), Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand and the
Philippines. Remember that when someone claims to be contacting you
from a location, it does not mean they are actually there. Also, some
make up elaborate stories claming to be helping people in poor areas
of the world to make themselves appear to be more of a humanitarian.
The
scam artist relies on several tools-
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Appealing
Photos For The Perfect Romance Scam
These photos are usually of models or taken from sites and are often
not the person that you are communicating with during online interactions. |
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Dream
Profiles For The An Alluring Dating Scam
The scam artist knows what most people are looking for and they
will create the seemingly perfect person. Emotionally open, caring
and often seeking a monogamous relationship and marriage for women
and sex for men. |
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Flattering
Correspondence To Suck You Into A Romance Scam
Often kept on file, eMails and letters are often copied from one
victim to another while offering flattering messages full of 'unconditional
love'. Using song lyrics and poetry, the scam artists create the
illusion of a romantic, long distance lover. |
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Love
& Lust For Irresistible Dating Scams
Often scammers will target men with lusty pictures and dialog (meanwhile
many of the scammers are men themselves) and will target women with
profiles of a widower who is looking for love once again. |
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Marriage
Proposals For The Final Grooming Of A Romance Scam
Often women are the scam of these, however it does occur to men,
especially in mail order bride cons. The scam artist knows that
once you have accepted a marriage proposal you will be more ready
to part with your money to help them out in some way. |
No
Dating Site Is Immune From Romance Scams
It does not matter if the dating site is an 'exclusive' one that tries
to keep out 'undesirables' by charging a high fees because the scammers
will pay for membership using a stolen credit card.
An
example of a common romance scam-
A
romance scammer may send a victim a forged or stolen check worth $4,800
and ask the victim to retain $800 for themselves and to forward the
remaining $4,000 to them via Western Union or a Moneygram. (Scammers
like money wiring services because it is impossible to trace the recipients
of the money).
The
romance scammer reassures the victim by telling them to keep a share
of the money for themselves. This not only reinforces the feelings of
love and trust within the victim but also serves to incriminate the
victim thereby reducing any chance of reporting to the authorities because
in the eyes of the law the victim becomes an accomplice by keeping a
portion of the stolen money.
Who
Is At Risk From Romance Scams?
We
are all targets. The counties where the romance scam
artists focus their efforts tends to be on the U.S. and U.K., however
no one is immune. Anyone looking for love on the Internet is at risk
because scammers are known to target every sort of dating site including
niche sites like religious, gay, professional, etc.
Common
Romance Scams
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They Are
In An Accident & Need Your Assistance
They have someone call to say that they have been in an accident
or are ill and unconscious. You are listed as their next of kin
and you need to pay for their urgent medical treatment. Without
this medical attention you are told they will die.
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They
Were Robbed Or Need To Borrow Money For Tax Reasons
The scammer may be bold enough to simply ask for they money directly
and indicate that they were robbed and need a small loan to get
them through this tough time. They may also indicate that they need
a loan to avoid foreign taxes as they travel through certain countries.
Also, remember that money laundering is a criminal offense: never
agree to transfer money for someone else. |
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Unpaid
Hotel Bill
The scammer may claim that they are trying to see you but do not
have enough money to pay their hotel bill and the hotel is holding
their passport until they pay it. |
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They
Want You To Ship Merchandise To Them
Scammers will make up an excuse why they need you to ship merchandise
to them. The reality is that they have purchased the merchandise
with a stolen credit card and you are shipping stolen goods or possibly
partaking in money laundering. |
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Mail
Order Bride
A very attractive woman wants to meet to see if the male victim
is physically compatible with them. The promise of sex it exciting
enough that the victim does not have any problem shelling out the
money for her passport or other travel expenses. |
Background Checks
You
can do a background check, but remember some of the romance scams use
real people as decoys. Meaning they go to a dating site, steal someone's
name and profile and use their information.
If someone you have never met in person is proclaiming their love for
you and asking you to send them gifts or money you should ask yourself:
could this person be a scammer? Use common sense and never give money
to someone you do not know.
What
To Do If You Have Been Scammed
What Not To Do-
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Do
not delete or throw away the scammer's letters, pictures or records
of your money transfers. You may need these for evidence later.
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Do
not provide the scammers with links to black lists where their pictures
may already be posted. This will only help them to change their
information and make them more difficult to catch. |
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Do
not send the scammers any more money no matter what they say. |
What
To Do-
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Call
the bank, Western Union (1-800-325-6000), MoneyGram (1-800-666-3947)
or however you sent money and find a way to speak to a representative.
Provide the representative with all the information you can. Make
sure to explain that you were not aware that the receiver was
a scam artist and ask the representative to provide you information
on the city name and the bank address where the transfer was picked
up by the receiver. Ask the representative what kind of steps
you can take to place a warning on the receiver’s name, so the
next time someone tries to send money to this person they would
be warned.
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Contact
your Embassy in the scammer’s country (ex., if the scammer if from
Russia, contact your Embassy in Moscow) and ask them if a visa was
issued for a lady by such name. Confirm that there was no visa issued.
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If
you have her flight itinerary, contact the air carrier listed in
the itinerary and confirm that a passenger by that name did not
booked a ticket, or that a ticket was purchased but later canceled.
Request this information in writing. |
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Post
information about the scammer on as many black lists and anti-scam
forums as you can. |
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If
you have her flight itinerary, contact the air carrier listed in
the itinerary and confirm that a passenger by that name did not
booked a ticket, or that a ticket was purchased but later canceled.
Request this information in writing. |
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Report
the incident to any of the appropriate authorities
Your bank or credit card company. The Federal Trade Commission.
Report the circumstances to the FTC: National
Resource for Identity Theft |
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Find someone to talk to about what happened. Don't keep your experience
a secret just because you want to avoid being embarrassed. It always
helps to find someone whom you trust to confide in. |
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Find
support from people who have been through the same experience, join
them and participate in their activities and help others. |
Helpful
Links-
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The
Holistic Wisdom Corporation