What is a Romance Scam?
According to Wikipedia:
A romance scam is a confidence trick involving feigning romantic intentions towards a victim, gaining the victim's affection, and then using that goodwill to get the victim to send money to the scammer under false pretences or to commit fraud against the victim.
Romance scams in general involve both genders as victims. But it seems most dominant for the females. The scammer usually pretends to be someone they are not and tries to exploit the victim either through physical or emotional blackmail, or both.
I didn't know how crazy this form of scam was until I saw a movie documentary titled Tinder Swindler.
It was about a Man who has scammed multiple women millions of dollars over the years. He meets women on Tinder, He pretends to be a very rich man whose father is King of Diamond and owned a diamond company.
After gaining the trust and affection of his victim,(sometimes goes as far as engaging them) he pretends to be in great need and extorts them hundreds of thousands of dollars, some even taking loans to send to him. He in turn spends the money on a fancy lifestyle and a new lady, trying to buy her heart to repeat the cycle.
This just goes to show how creative these scammers can be.
The Tinder Swindler is not the only scammer out there and his scamming pattern is just one in many.
It is easier these days for anyone to fall victim to these scams with the availability of online dating apps and websites.
Before watching the Netflix film, I didn't know how devastating and life-ruining the level of some of these scams are.
Women go as far as taking loans and selling their properties just to feed these scammers.
There are different ways this scam can be carried out. With the improvement in technology and innovations, these scammers have gotten more creative with the processes.
That is I have decided to list out ways I believe would help reduce the possibility of falling victim to these scams to the minimum.
Be careful what you post on social media:
It is advisable not to post every subtle detail of your life on social media. This is where the scammer could mine valuable information about you and use it to plot their schemes.
Run a reverse search of your suitor's profile picture:
Google search your suitor's profile picture and If you start seeing the picture has multiple names to it, you know that person is a scammer.
Avoid sharing inappropriate pictures of yourself with someone you meet online:
One way these scams are carried out is by blackmail, they threaten to send inappropriate pictures of you to your boss at your workplace or colleagues and make you send them money not to. And when you do, they threaten you again. They extort you until you have nothing.
Never send money to someone you meet online:
It's easier said than done. And I'm not in an authoritative position when it comes to matters of the heart but I strongly advise we do not send money to persons we meet online as there is a high per cent chance that they are scammers.
Lastly, It's okay to ask questions and be sceptical:
It is okay to be in doubt of the genuineness of your suitor and always ask questions. If he or she feels agitated by your questions then I believe that is a bad sign.
I am not in a position of authority when it comes to matters of the heart, in the end, we all make our own decisions. I only advise we take extra precautions and question the things we do in the name of love.
PS: All graphics from this article are owned by me; edited on Canva with free pictures from Pixabay.
Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave a comment ❤
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In my country. I've heard some women scamming men 😅 most of their victims are foreigners. They are unbelievable.
Better not go online dating lol
Hi @jane1289,
Yes, that's true. It seems to me these days women are just into these scamming schemes as well as men.
One has to be careful regardless of gender. Falling for those scams can be devastating.
😆 Honestly, I avoid it myself. I think it might help if we just focus on the traditional way of dating.
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Fraudulent activities, especially online dating or crypto scams are on the rise, and people of all ages are falling victim to scammers. These scams can have serious emotional and financial effects. So it's important to be aware of the various types of scams out there and to know how to protect ourselves. I hope others will be more cautious after watching the Tinder Swindler.
Your listed tips will help many people to avoid being scammed. Thanks for the entry !LUV
This is excellent advice. I did this once and was amazed at how many names the same photo had.
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Actual topic. The internet is full of such scammers. I had to contact them on Facebook 😅
Bad people are present everywhere, but this, of course, is not a reason to see a threat in everyone, but you always need to be on the alert. Trust but verify :)