Valentine’s Day Is Here Again

This is one of the two main peaks for romance scam activities a year!

Here is a quick checklist you can use to help spot a Romance Scammer!

Scam Suspect Check List

If you use online dating websites, social media, online games, or any place where people can connect – YOU WILL encounter a scammer.

People looking for love are the MOST likely to fall for a scam.

So keep these things in mind – these are RED FLAGS for scammers:

• You are contacted out of the blue – you are contacted by a stranger online
• The email or message is strangely written for a person from the place they say they are from or living in
• The message is very large – one or two full paragraphs – or more, but they may send something very brief but just not what a person would say to a stranger at the beginning
• The message contains a lot of the same information as in their description in their profile – as though it is scripted – they will reuse elements
• The grammar and spelling are weird – sometimes well written, but odd
• They are looking for someone in a VERY broad age range
• They give their contact information very quickly – usually to try to get you only something like Hangouts or another platform
• They have multiple email addresses or profiles with different names or are different from the profile name
• They have had a family crisis in the past
• They are having an emergency now
• They need money from you or other favors
• They need your identification information and access to deposit money in your accounts

These are just a few of the RED FLAGS you will find.  When you encounter one of these please report them.

How Can You Know?

It is more obvious than you may think, but some victims remain in denial and need proof:

• Start with exchanging a couple of messages, and make careful notes of their locations.  In each of your replies, ask something about the location that you know to be true – a restaurant, or a place that locals would know.  See if you get an answer.   If they are a scammer, they are not there and don’t know the area, so they will ignore location questions.  If this happens 2 or 3 times, alarm bells should be going off.
• You can also make up a detail about the location that they will never be able to look up – such as “I used to love going to the ice cream shop on main street”  They will never tell you that there is no such place. You caught them.
• Do not confront them. It is enough that you know, do not tell them that you know.

Once you have confirmation, notify the dating website or social media, or platform and report their profile.  Also, report them on www.Anyscam.com

Remember, do not confront or alert them.  That way they will continue to use the same emails and contact information, allowing future prospect victims to find them easily on our site and others.

TAGS: SCARS, Information About Scams, Anti-Scam, Scams, Scammers, Fraudsters, Cybercrime, Crybercriminals, Romance Scams, Scam Victims, Online Fraud, Online Crime Is Real Crime, Scam Avoidance, Anti-Scam Check List, Red Flags, Valentine’s Day