What is a Dating Scam?

Very similar to Advance Fee Fraud, dating scams are usually targetted at users of online dating sites. Usually the scammer will pose as an attractive woman living abroad but wanting to meet someone in your country with a view to marriage. This is perhaps the most insidious of all email scams as the fraudster knows quite a bit of information about you from your site profile, but knows above all that you are single and looking for romance. The scammer will take their time to befriend you and win your trust, using information that you give them in your email exchanges to tailor their "pitch" for money to your particular personality and find out exactly what "buttons" they can press to appeal best to your generosity. It may be:

• They need money urgently for a family member to have an operation
• They have run out of money until their next payday and need a "loan" to pay their bills
• They need a plane ticket to visit a dying parent before they pass away
• They desperately want to get to your country to meet you, but can't afford the fare

However they try to get money out of you, you can be sure that they will try.

What happens if I fall for it?

If you send money, one of two things will happen.

1. You'll never hear from them again
2. You'll be asked for more and more money, always with the promise that they'll come to you soon, but they never will

How do I spot a scammer from a genuine dating opportunity?

It's not easy, but there are some pointers you can look out for. The main indication however will be the plausible sounding appeal for cash.

Key points to look out for

• Your new "friend" is very new to the site and logs in infrequently
• They try to very quickly move conversations away from the dating site to private email, telephone and Instant Messaging (This removes the risk of their activity being caught by site administrators)
• Their profile is badly written, with poor English despite them claiming to be of British nationality.
• Their photograph is of an implausibly good looking person, obviously taken professionally (It's a model!)
• You receive an email outlining a well constructed reason why they need money from you

What do I do if I think I'm being scammed?

• Stop corresponding with the person immediately and report the contact to your dating site
• DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY no matter how plausible the story is, or how long you've been corresponding with the person. It's a scam.
• Just in case the last point wasn't clear - DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY!