Online Dating Scams - and how to successfully stay away from them.

Due to the pandemic, we’ve all have been locked up at home and unable to meet people. If you are single or lonely, it makes life all the more difficult to meet new people and mingle. That’s where dating apps fills this vacuum. Most of the dating apps mention you need to be 18 years and above to subscribe to their services. People worldwide turn to online dating apps or social networking sites like Tinder Match, OkCupid, Bumble, etc to meet up. But instead of finding romance, many find a scammer using a fake profile who is trying to trick them into a scam. 

Scamsters quickly fall for you or mention the following: 

• they’re living or traveling outside of India.  
• working on an oil rig

• in the military
• a doctor with an international organization
• will never come on the camera / or meet in person or would be masked up ! 
•  demand Virtual Sex, later Blackmail you with the compromising video / image 

• pay customs fees to retrieve something
• pay for a plane ticket or other travel expenses
• pay for surgery or other medical expenses
• pay for a visa or other official travel documents

Scammers generally ask people to pay

• generally by wiring money through organisations like Western union etc
• gift cards from vendors like Amazon, Google Play, iTunes.

If you suspect a dating scam:

• Stop communicating with the person immediately.
• Talk to someone you trust, and pay attention if your friends or family advise.
• Do a search for the type of job the person has, to see if other people have heard similar stories.

• Do a reverse image search of the person’ profile picture to see if it’s associated with another name or with details that don’t match up – those are signs of a scam.
• Meet up, but only in a public place, never go alone. Inform family & friends