Online dating has become a fashionable activity ever since internet became accessible to all. It is no big surprise when online dating sites sprout like mushrooms, offering an open platform for dating. Only that, most of these love-seekers are disillusioned by scammers who make love their greatest weapon to take advantage of unsuspecting souls who are mostly “senior citizens.”
Scammers will use your information against you, making you fall for them. When you’re already vulnerable, then just like a predator—they attack!
We’re not patronizing that you stop your search for love as it is your decision, your life. The least we can do to help you “weed out” your suitors, is to give you some tips. Help yourself with our list here in how to avoid online dating scams:
- Stay local and avoid long-distance relationship with a stranger.
- Most of the scammers choose dates from outside their areas or locality in order to avoid getting caught and persecuted. Dating within your local drastically cuts off probability of getting scammed.
- Do not readily impart personal and employment details to these shady folks.
- You can say your profession (example: office staff, accountant, teacher or an executive) but do not provide your company nor your salary info.
- Make use of Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to check on his background.
- Since they are fraud, they may find it difficult to “share” something about them online. Given that they have provided you their Facebook account, feel free to check on his photos. Does he (or she) share photos in different scenarios? How many photos does your date have in his or her account? If you find his profile shady, then by all means use your common sense.
- Search more about them using image checkers like com or use Google reverse image search.
- Usually, these scammers will glamorize their images like profile pictures in Facebook and give you those romantic names that sound too much of a fairytale prince. Look closely on these images and check them out. They are commonly pictures of truly gorgeous models, actors and other celebrities.
- Unending Excuses
- They entice you with their sweet words that put honey and sugar into shame. They make you the most important person in their life and the very center of their universe… that they are dying to see you. They make efforts in making plans of travel just to see you, only that when the day arrives, something just came up. Reschedule, something came up, reschedule, something came up, and the unending list of excuses begins.
- Wise Up!
It is the same as saying, “Wake up!” actually. If you’ve seen checkmarks on the symptoms, then it’s time to say goodbye. Next time you date, you can start off with the men or women within your locale. Who knows… the person you are actually waiting for is near you.