Internet dating sites have become a great option for lonely souls seeking to connect to their life partner.  Typically, an eager dater has only to log onto a dating website, create and post a profile along with a recent picture and wait for like-minded individuals to show interest. Hundreds of thousands of cyberdaters all around the world have sought romance by following this formula with much success.  Unfortunately, there are many sharks swimming alongside the sincere fish in the sea.

Internet dating scams are a growing concern.  These scams come in many shapes and forms.  Probably of the most popular include pick-up-artists, disguised as your soul mate, pilfering the hard-earned cash of unsuspecting victims.  The false-hearted scammers lower their prey’s defenses by appealing to their romantic desires.  This usually leaves those with true intentions in financial and emotional ruin and, incredulously, can often times lead to criminal charges pressed against the victim for unknowingly aiding a crime.

The way these types of scams usually work is that the scam artist creates their own profile on the dating website, often complete with an attractive photo and alluring bio.  More times than not, the scammer will state in their bio that they are an American expatriate working abroad for a large corporation in another country.  This plays on the potential victim’s fantasy which helps to add to the mystery and fascination of the connection.  The scammer can then either wait for a potential victim to contact them through their profile or the scammer may initiate the contact themselves.  Either way, an online relationship ensues.  The enthusiastic dater and their scammer will communicate frequently over a period of several weeks or sometimes even months.  Scam artists can be very patient while they wait for their prey to get really comfortable and hopefully fall in love with them.  The correspondence will start in the online dating forum but will eventually move to the exchange of personal email contacts and perhaps even phone numbers.  The scammer uses this time to scope out their ideal victim which can be anyone who is lonely, shy, isolated and vulnerable.  Divorcees, widowers, single parents and naïve young adults are the perfect candidates.

Once the scammer is assured that their pretend love interest is head over heels for them, the scam begins.  Scammers have several devices to trick their victims out of their money.  There may be a sudden family emergency that requires the victim to wire the scammer money for fake medical expenses.  There can be a supposed contract deal gone badly and the scammer begs for funds to keep it going with the promise to repay their victim on the back end.  The scammer may say that they are having difficulty cashing a check or money order in whatever country they claim to be working in and request that it be deposited into the victim’s bank account so the cash can be wired to them.  Of course, the check is counterfeit and the victim ends up eating the cost and can sometimes be jailed for illegally transferring money as this can be considered international money laundering in many locations.  The scammer may also claim to have issues with their visas and need their victim to pay the fees required to apply, renew or release their immigration papers.

Probably the most egregious method is for the scammer to announce their undying love for the victim and desire to meet in person.  The request may even include a suggestion of marriage.  Clouded with the idea of wedding bells ringing, the victim agrees to wire untold sums of cash to the scammer for airfare, hotels, car rentals, engagement rings and in some cases, full wedding ceremonies.  As long as the victim is willing to pay, the scammer will continue making requests.  Then on the day the two are destined to meet, the victim waits aimlessly at the airport for their new love to show up but the scammer never does.  In fact, the scammer is never heard from again.

It can be very difficult for a victim of an internet dating scam to receive justice.  Dating scammers can be very crafty.  They never use their real name and that gorgeous picture on their profile is most likely a stolen photo from a model website.  You can never be too sure that someone’s profile is truthful about their image, profession, age, gender or even their nationality.  For this reason, it is important to be wary of any internet romance.  While most internet daters have good intentions, it is imperative to use your common sense when pursuing an online relationship.  Don’t let your desire to find love obscure your ability to make good decisions.   If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.