Romance scams are a form of fraud in which criminals gain people's trust and emotionally manipulate them to get money from them. The danger behind it? It often happens through online dating platforms and social media, where scammers use false identities to deceive potential victims.
Why do so many people fall for romance scams?
There are several reasons for this, and they are closely linked.
- Emotional Needs: Many people look for love and affection online, especially when they are lonely in real life or going through a breakup. Love scammers take advantage of this and promise their victims love and a future together to gain their trust.
- Trust in the Internet: The Internet is a place where people can communicate and build relationships quickly and easily. Many people therefore trust that online relationships are just as real and trustworthy as relationships in real life. Unfortunately, love scammers exploit this trust to deceive their victims.
- Sophisticated deception techniques: Love scammers are often very skilled at emotionally manipulating their victims. They use various techniques such as love bombing, where they shower their victim with gifts and compliments to seduce them more quickly. They also use the tactic of gaslighting, where they cause the victim to doubt their own perception and memory in order to make them feel like they are going crazy.
- Shame and embarrassment: Many victims of romance fraud are embarrassed to talk about it or ask for help. They fear that others will think they are naive or stupid, and they fear that they will disappoint their family or friends. This leads to many victims remaining silent and not making the problem public.
How can we protect ourselves against the danger of love fraud?
Here are some tips:
- Be careful with people you meet online and don't give out personal information too quickly.
- Verify your potential partner's identity by searching social media profiles and other online presences.
- Be skeptical of people who feel too strongly for you too quickly or too strongly or who keep giving you gifts.
- Be careful not to allow yourself to be manipulated emotionally by keeping your own needs and desires in mind.
- Reach out to friends, family, or a trusted person if you are unsure or need help.
Of course, there are many other factors that can cause people to fall prey to romance scammers. However, one of the main problems is that many victims do not talk about it out of shame or fear of being seen as naive or stupid. It is important that we as a society raise awareness of romance scams and the tactics used by scammers in order to help victims and protect potential victims.
Also read: Love scam, romance scam or also: Cheating with your feelings
Follow us on Facebook in our “Mimikama Fact Checks” group
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

