When love scams you...
ONLINE: SURGE AS CRIMINALS CASH IN ON LONELY SOUTH AFRICANS
Spotting red flags the difference between being deeply in love or knee-deep in debt.
Dating sites can be a wonderful place to find a romantic partner, but as the Tinder Swindler documentary showed, it’s easy to fall in love and fall victim to dating scams involving romantic con artists.
With February being the month of love, online daters need to protect themselves in the digital dating space.
Data from the Federal Trade Commission in the US showed that in 2021, reported losses to romance scammers were up nearly 80%, compared to the previous year. This was followed by an alert issued by the FBI which noted victims of romance fraud lost $1 billion (about R17.81 billion) in 2021 alone.
While current figures are difficult to establish, romance scams, both in SA and across the globe, are likely to be underreported because of the personal nature of the crime and victims’ feelings of embarrassment.
According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric), some terror groups have been targeting South Africans to finance their criminal acts through romance scams. It also reports that online dating scams are used by fraudsters to launder the illicit proceeds of crime.
In 2021, eight suspects were arrested in Cape Town for an online dating scam, stealing more than R100 million from victims in various countries.
Don’t fall for the rom-con
Online dating or romance scams are financially and emotionally costly as fraudsters exploit people’s vulnerabilities, trust and feelings of loneliness. When visiting online dating platforms, be aware of photos that look too good to be true. An image search on Google can help you determine if the photo is authentic or stolen. Other red flags include requests for information such your ID number, declarations of love alarmingly early, or a request for money to help them out.
Another new trend last year was an increase in reports of romance scammers luring consumers into fake cryptocurrency investment schemes.
Falling for deception
Dating scams all rely on gaining a victim’s information which should give everyone pause to think about how the management of personal information can allow criminals to build a detailed profile of their target.
A common modus operandi is emotional manipulation to get a victim to send money, or personal information. A traumatising form of deception is sextortion. This begins as a seemingly normal relationship before the scammer pressures the victim into sending intimate photos, which are used to blackmail the victim.
With catfishing, scammers lure the victim into a relationship based on the attacker’s fictitious online persona. Once the victim is hooked, the scammer sends messages about being in financial trouble with promises to pay the money back later.
How to protect yourself:
Scammers seldom ask for money at the beginning. Instead, they may casually express money worries or use financial trouble as a reason not to meet.
Carefully consider the decision to leave verified dating apps to message privately. This gives the fraudster access to your mobile number.
Don’t send money. Talk to someone you trust for their perspective on the situation.
Never share any information that may compromise you, including photos or videos.
If you decide to meet someone in person that you’ve met online, be sure to set up the meeting in a safe, public place, and ensure a trusted friend or family member is aware of your arrangements.