SCARS Institute’s Encyclopedia of Scams™ Published Continuously for 25 Years
Scammers Are Creatures Of Habit
Quick Clues You Can Use To Spot Romance Scammers
New or less experienced scammers make frequent errors in the information they provide to protect victims in their profiles. They try to avoid writing anything new if possible, relying on scripts and templates that they buy, but it cannot always be avoided. This is especially true when they create profiles on dating websites.
Here are red flags to watch for on dating websites and social media
Red Flag Terms
- Lady – anytime any woman calls herself a Lady in a profile – watch out. Same for Gentlemen from a man.
- Native American – any profile that has this as their ethnicity is automatically a warning – they don’t know what this really means.
- Never Married – by itself this is not a red flag, but it is a clue, so be alert for other clues – especially for someone in their 30s or older.
- Age – compare the age in the profile to the apparent age of the person in the photos – for example, someone in their 30s doesn’t look 19 – yet Africans typically choose younger girl’s our guy’s photos
- Income – compare the person’s income, profession, and education – they really don’t know how these tie together.
- No Children – 98% of the time, the person will not have children – look at their age – odds of someone in their 30s with children is high – so this is another clue!
- God Fearing – instant red flag – other than the Amish, who talks like this? This is especially true for religious Africans from countries other than Nigeria.
- Down To Earth / Down To Heart – instant red flag – some people are down to earth, but does anyone say that in a real profile? Down to Heart – is pure scammer grammar!
- Searching For (Age Range) – no 20-something is looking for someone aged 45 to 77. It just doesn’t happen unless you are worth $50+ Million!
- I love the nature – Google translate was at work here! Is she/he really from the United States and needs a translator? Probably not!
- Am New Here – If you are you don’t say it, so why say it – because they THINK it makes them sound more innocent – always a red flag
- Usa – look for misspelled country names.
- i – lower case “i” – these are major red flags – it shows that they don’t care about quality just quantity – the scammers have to throw out thousands of messages a day to get their expected haul – speed is more important than punctuation.
- Gray Eyes – are extremely rare, but they wouldn’t know that – this is a red flag – they try to guess the eye color from the photo, and being Africans they have difficulty telling blue from gray.
- I will like to know – this is a common misuse of the phrase and a solid clue.
- Graduate degree – here again, they don’t really know what this means.
- Mixed Race – when they say this, it is Ghana speak for I’m really African and in Ghana and I want your money!
- Hard Work / Hard Working – in Africa this is a must-have in a wife – no one says this in the rest of the world.
- Cooking – is also a big deal for Africans.
- No spaces after commas, or odd spacing – more red flags.
- No Punctuation at end of a paragraph – meaning it was cut and pasted.
- Honest – no one introduces themselves as being honest – if they do, they are not!
Always Be On Guard And Do Not Talk To Strangers Online!
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Table of Contents
To Understand All Scams
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The SCARS Institute Relationship Scams Formula Checklist
This is the Formula that all Relationship Scams Follow
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