Dating apps become popular when you can't go out. But scammers take advantage of the loneliness of many people!
Because what new users of these apps usually don't know is that not only on Facebook, but especially on dating apps like Tinder, Elite Partner, etc., there are many fake accounts that only pretend to be looking for true love.
Romance Scam – Fake love
The word “scam” means “to deceive” in German. Literally, this is about romance scammers: profiles that pretend to be a young man, mostly American, who is in military service, who has “stumbled upon” a picture of a user on Tinder & Co. and is interested in her. However, after a short time the interest shifts more towards financial matters.
Romance scammers usually proceed very slowly and emotionally: Over the course of a chat, they quickly tell a touching story, for example that they work in the military, have a small child and are a single parent because their wife died early. This creates additional compassion and puts pressure on the tear duct.
At some point they say that they are mostly stationed in Africa and that they need money, for example to be able to pay the smartphone bill. The initially small amounts become increasingly larger, up to several thousand euros for a visit.
Of course, nothing ever comes of the visit, the names, information and pictures are all fake: There is a sophisticated scam behind these fake profiles! At some point, contact will be completely lost from their side, the profile will be deleted, and the money will be gone.
How to recognize fake accounts
rnd website lists some tips on how to recognize fake accounts in dating apps:
- Photos : Mostly look like professional profile pictures, often stolen from other users or copied from modeling agencies. You can often find the origin using Google's reverse image search
- Texts : The profiles contain little to no text, and if they do, it is full of grammatical errors
- Links : The profiles have no links to other networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Spotify or Instagram
- Chat : If an answer often comes after just a few seconds in the chat, this indicates a bot. An even better tip: complex questions only receive general answers and phrases are repeated
How do you protect yourself from fake accounts?
- No pure internet love is real. In general, no one who you don't know personally talks about love or even marriage. Don't be blinded. Usually something is wrong.
- Don't pay any money. No one who claims to love you would ask for money, no matter what plight they claim.
- Don't blindly trust strangers. Don't let yourself be put under pressure, even by the worst stories.
- Trust common sense. If the story of an online acquaintance seems strange to you, be suspicious. Confide in someone and talk about it.
- To file charges. If you have already fallen into the trap, shame is not appropriate. Report this to your local police. This is the only way to investigate and save other women from the same fate.
Article image: Shutterstock / By r.classen
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