The online dating industry has become big business. A huge range of sites are available providing online dating services. These sites have become an acceptable and means for people to seek out their ideal match. But the industry is prone to abuse, and although the online dating companies do what they can to detect scammers in our midst, inevitably some fall through the net.
Online dating scammers are on the sites for one reason only. They are there to try to get your money. You will never meet them and once your money is gone there is very little hope of recovering it. Online dating scammers can operate from any country. Amongst the more common ones are those operating from Russia and Ghana.
They join the services and post a picture of a beautiful girl. The picture itself is almost too good to be true. The photographs look professional and the subject could well be a professional model. The word Love appears as part of the username.
The scammer claims to be looking for long term relationships and marriage. The ideal match requirements are typically left wide open - any age, any nationality and so on. She doesn’t really care. She adds dozens of men on the site as favourites and waits for one of them to buy her a gift subscription. With a free subscription in her hand she then proceeds to send emotive messages to every man.
Many unsuspecting men respond - not only is she very beautiful, but she seems to be genuinely interested in meeting and furthering the relationship. She is prepared to travel from Russia or Ghana to meet - but has no money. She needs $10,000 to relocate and meet the victim.
There have been a number of cases where sums of money have been paid over to scammers. At this point all communication ends. The profile disappears from the site and all further attempts to make contact are in vain.
The best way to avoid a situation such as this is awareness. A profile with a stunning picture but very little in the way of information is cause for suspicion. Is a real woman likely to be happy with anyone from age 25 to 80? She has fallen in love with you after seeing your profile and would like to travel across the world to marry you. Take a reality check. She knows nothing about you or you about her. Can such a stunning woman really be so desperate? Be very suspicious is she asks for money. Genuine people don’t do this except in very rare situations.
Remember that the wonderful woman that has attracted you and seems to be determined to join you as a life partner doesn’t really exist. She is the creation of an organisation that makes its money from scamming. Once you have parted with your money she will disappear only to be replaced by another photographs and a brand new userid.
Be aware of the risks and avoid these scams.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Yvonne Rice // Jun 22, 2008 at 4:30 am
I congratulate you on your article – it was well researched and written. We need more people like you informing people of what to look out for when dating or chatting online.
I am a huge supporter of online dating and chat rooms, having research more than 6,000 of them world wide and interviewed in excess of 3,000+ online daters. My expertise is in the entire industry which also covers the seedier sides – scammers and sexual predators. I have collaborated with Law Enforcement, Government Agencies and Communities in order to inform everyone of this unfortunate side to this world.
These “email-order” women or men usually come from poorer counties such as Asia or the Baltic regions—the Russian, Asian or Filipina brides, as they are known. These women and men seek a better life than the one they are living, and who could blame them for that? Unfortunately, a lot of these women and men are exploited, and the bad eggs outperform the good ones. It is a massive problem, and the Internet is rife with dummy “marriage agencies” and speculation of the Russian and Asian mafia involvement, scamming millions and millions of dollars every year from lonely men and women all over the world who just want a permanent partner.
You are correct in your article - these photographs and sites are very tantalising about how beautiful and easy to get along with these women and men are. As the saying goes, “buyer beware”. There are hundreds of websites with “marriage agencies” on the Internet that will hook you up with your “perfect and beautiful email-order bride”. A lot of them are scams, but even the legitimate ones have people on them ready to scam you unbeknown to these agencies.
But how do you know, for example, that the girl you are corresponding with is a Russian beauty and not a fat, hairy, sweaty Boris? Or that the Asian princess who is in love with you is in fact not a big, fat Mamma who is pretending so she can scam money out of you? Oh? You have seen pictures? So you know they are real? Aaaah . . . well, treasure the memory of your money. You are possibly being taken for a ride. You think I’m joking, don’t you? Well, just keep an open mind about these “Rush’n-to-the-altar-to–marry-you” brides.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of stories of people being scammed around the world that the authorities know about, and they suspect there are as many that they don’t know about.
Here are a couple of questions you should ask yourself:
1. If this person is so destitute, how do they afford to pay for the Internet, even if it is an Internet café? These services are extremely expensive in some countries.
2. If they desperately need money, how have they survived all this time up until they met you?
3. If you asked them for money more than once, would they still want to know you?
So when you receive a contact from someone from overseas, picture this in your mind: picture them (or their Boss) sitting in an Internet café having a lovely, cool drink as they rake in the money from overseas victims. The reason they use an Internet café is not because they can’t afford a computer; they are driving Rolls Royces! It’s because if they use a Yahoo or Hotmail address at an Internet café, they are untraceable!
Please feel free to contact me if you need any advice. I am more than to help if I can. The more people that are aware of this – the less it will happen. Internet or Online Dating and Chat Rooms are a fantastic medium to meet new people and possibly find “the one” you seek – millions of people all over the world have – so can you.
You just need to be aware and do it safely.
Smiles to you,
Yvonne Rice
Author and Publisher
2
eastsideprincess
// Jun 22, 2008 at 9:48 am
Great article.
You should, however, not forget the scammers on the dating sites who put up fake photos of themselves and when you meet them in real life, they are totally the opposite of what their photo on the site is representing.
3
barrym
// Jun 22, 2008 at 10:04 am
Thanks for the comments.
Yes, there are the scammers out to get your money. It is nothing short of organised crime. The profile on the site is of a fictional person.
Then there are those that misrepresent themselves on the sites using fake photos ….
Awareness is probably the best weapon of defence.
4
one44
// Jun 22, 2008 at 7:01 pm
The power of free on the internet.
There are many so called free dating sites that are free to join but then scam you with a recurring monthly fee for contacting other members. Online dating site loversmatch www.loversmatch.biz recently abandoned its paid model and is experiencing explosive growth since becoming 100% free. It’s a recipe for disaster for those sites thinking they can rely on their subscription models. Loversmatch is now positioned for exponential growth as it absorbs those members who are sick of emptying their wallets for paid sites that offer less. The online dating industry needs to position itself to combat the rise of MySpace and Facebook. Sites that think they can offer a service for $30 a month just to contact other members are dreaming. Loversmatch offers a wide range of services to its members such as forums, chat, photo voting and the ability to see who has viewed your profile or voted on your profile. By operating locally in each of its key markets, loversmatch is able to provide a local flavor with local members. loversmatch is a global dating site with localized sites in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand and South Africa. Loversmatch has a strong and loyal customer base due to the massive range of features it now gives away for free. http://www.loversmatch.biz
5 steven // Jul 29, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I spotted a tidbit on http://dating-sites-portal.blogspot.com/ saying alot of these sites have phantom profiles
6 Andre // Sep 4, 2008 at 6:40 am
If anyone comes accross such dating profiles on flirt.co.za please let us know, they will be removed immediately. On the flirt.co.za dating website we also have a destalkify feature that basically allows users to become invisible if someone is bothering you.
7 Barry Marcus // Sep 4, 2008 at 9:13 am
The dating sites are aware of the problem and actively seek out and delete profiles of would be scammers. Some get missed.
If you find one, or if someone tries to scam you then please let the dating site know.
If the stunning Russian beauty or Swede living in Ghana is ready to marry you after two emails but needs $10,000 to relocate then you are being scammed.
Let the site know and don’t send money under any circumstances. You will never see it again.
8 Jamson // Dec 13, 2008 at 6:42 am
i agree about the profiles… seeing a beautiful piture and then only a few words in the bio and no other interests spells WARNING
Jamson’s last blog post..Get Your Ex Back With The Magic of Making Up
9 Shyguy86 // Jan 2, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Maybe but some sites have strict profile rules and require profile input info verification.
10 Manhunter // May 8, 2009 at 1:24 am
Very True good advice.
11 Rene // Oct 10, 2009 at 11:07 pm
What about IP address confirmation, people, getting involved with even a slight suspect scammer/crook should encourage an email from them, trace there email, get the IP address, then report them. Even at a internet cafe. Women especially should also start coming foward, and report abuse. I think someone with knowledge should start some sort of blog, www. where all these, IP address, email, even photo’s and profile names are used. Just like everything else that envolves crime in some form or the other, society should really start saying NO!
12 lina // Apr 20, 2010 at 9:20 am
hallo almal, ja ek is ook op ‘n internet dating site, en daar is baie mans met wie ek ook gesels, so snaaks dat hulle almal iewers gestrand is, hulle wil kom kuier om my te ontmoet van reg oorkant die see (verskillende lande) maar hulle vlug is vertraag weens die weer, of hulle bagasie is gesteel, ek het eers gedink almal wil met my trou omdat hulle die wereld sokker beker toernooi hier wil kom kyk en soek blyplek he he, maar nou ja ek is darem nie so naief nie, ek soek vriendskap en dis al……ek vra alle vroue om tog oop oo in hierdie dating games in te gaan…….hou eerder jou geld vir jou lipstiffies want daardie mans is nie eg nie…….tog so jammer dat die wat belangstel ook die strik moet aftrap.
13 Loversmatch // Jul 2, 2010 at 5:48 pm
That is why I trust a free site that has a forum linked to it where members can list problem members and scammers that the site admin can then remove. Free sites are driven to clear fake and problem members as they have no financial hold on members other then excellent customer service. This is the cornerstone of www.loversmatch.biz
14 how to get a guy // Jul 18, 2010 at 2:34 pm
you have to act smart when it comes to online dating site. thank you for the post.
how to get a guy’s last blog post..How To Flirt With Men Without Seeming Desperate ? 3 Important Keys
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