Catfishing, sextortion, phishing and other romance scams are big business for online fraudsters. Knowing how to spot red flags can help people to tell if they have found true love or they are being scammed.
Dating sites can be a wonderful place to meet new people, make connections and find a romantic partner, particularly in the month of love. But as several documentaries and reality TV shows like Dr. Phil have revealed, it’s easy to fall in love and fall victim to dating scams involving romantic con artists. With February being the month of love, it’s important that online daters know how 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 that victims of romance fraud lost US$1-billion in 2021 alone. While current reliable figures are difficult to establish, romance scams, both in South Africa 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 in connection with an online dating scam and stealing more than US$5.6 million from victims in various countries.
There is no real data on the extent to which Ghanaians have been victimized by online romance scammers, but it is very common to trace some of scams across the world to Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and other African countries. What is common in Ghana is scammers going on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and pretending to be someone they are not just to lead their victims on and defraud them.
A common modus operandi is a WhatsApp message or a Facebook DM from a random person, saying “Hi” or “Hi Dear” as if they knew you already. Their DP is often a picture of a very attractive lady or guy with the obvious vital statistics that easily arouse the interest of the opposite sex. For the male victims – boobs and butt. For the female victims – arbs, height and trimmed beard mainly.
Once you fall for the fake picture on the DP, you are hooked and the scammer gets to lead you on until they make you part with some money either by asking you to pay for their travel expenses to meet with you in person, or by faking some family problems that require some money to solve urgently. They will keep
playing that game and getting your money until you figure out the scam then they vanish.
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, or when you receive random messages online, 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 a stolen or stock photo. Other red flags include requests for private information such your ID number, declarations of love alarmingly early in the relationship, or a request for money to help them out of a situation.
Another new trend in 2022 was an increase in reports of romance scammers luring consumers into fake cryptocurrency investment schemes.
Phishing
While dating scams have multiple layers of deception, they 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.
Sextortion
A common modus operandi is scammers using emotional manipulation to get a victim to send money, gifts or personal information. Another common, and extremely traumatising, form of deception is sextortion. This begins as a seemingly normal relationship before the scammer pressures the victim into sending intimate photos or videos which are used as material to blackmail the victim.
Catfishing
Catfishing is another common trick scammers use which lures the victim into a relationship based on the attacker’s fictitious online persona. Once the victim is on the hook, the scammer will send messages about being in financial trouble, with promises to pay the money back later.
How to protect your feelings and your finances
- Scammers seldom ask for money at the beginning of an interaction. Instead, they may express money worries in casual conversation or use financial trouble as a reason not to meet.
- Carefully consider the decision to leave verified dating apps to message privately. Not only does this give the fraudster access to your mobile number, but dating apps also provide mechanisms to report scammers and unsafe behaviour.
- Don’t send a person money, no matter how convincing their story may be. Talk to someone you know and 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.
