Dating these days can be right at your fingertips, a few taps on the keyboard and some clicks with the mouse can easily set you up with your own dating profile.
There are different platforms that can be used for virtual romance such as dating websites, social media, mobile apps and many more. At first sight it seems to be easy to find love but is it safe?
Scammers generally look for vulnerable people. They will do everything in their power to take financial advantage of their victims who have little to no knowledge about their true intentions.
The hunger for money drives some scammers into extremely deceitful actions. Romantic scammers feed off specific information they can obtain from profiles and chats, using this information they can lure the victim into a false sense of security with their wit & charm, going to great lengths to gain trust and love.
Once trust has been gained, they then begin their work. It starts with little amounts here are there, they have a sick child, a family member or even themselves. Overseas scammers promise the world and want to meet up. Just before they are due to arrive, they often email or call with an excuse why they were not able to come. This may happen a few times before the person realises what is actually going on and most of the time the scammers have scammed money for the “airfare”.
Whether you’re a man or woman, nobody is immune to these scammers, however cases with women in particular are more frequent and come in at 57% in the age range of 55-64, over men at 40.7% aged 45-54.
There are ways to avoid being scammed:
2. Never give your full personal details to anyone you don’t know.
3. Never hand over bank details to people you just met or started speaking to.
4. Be cautious of people wanting to get to know you in a very short amount of time.
5. Perform a Google Search on the person you are talking to and make sure they are real and truly are who they say they are.
6. Never meet strangers at your home or place of work. It’s better in the long run if they become too much to handle.
7. When going on a date, always let friends or family know your location, if you’re unsure of the person.
8. Once meeting your date, if you’re not sure of them and their intensions make an excuse to go the toilet and get out of there safely. If you’re at a bar have a chat to the bar tender or waitress.
9. Always know your location if someone needs to come and pick you up or you need emergency help.
10. Never panic because panic leads to irrational thinking.
If you need advice on personal security, please contact Southern Cross Group. Have a Safe Valentine’s Day!
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