Online Dating Scams

Online dating scammers are not out to steal your heart - instead they want to steal your cash! 

Every year West Mercia Police investigates many cases where fraudsters have tricked money out of unsuspecting victims on internet dating sites - sometimes thousands of pounds.

Scammers can sign up to online dating agencies or chat rooms just like anyone else. Many online dating sites allow anyone to join for free and they usually do not screen their members.  Scammers take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to create the 'perfect profile', making any number of promises to tempt their victims to letting their defences down.

How Do I Know If It's A Scam?

The scammer will ask you for money!  This will not happen immediately, however before long the scammer will ask for financial help for any number of reasons.  Almost always they will ask you to send money using an untraceable source such as electronic money transfer services (even using legitimate services, such as Western Union or Moneygram).  They may ask you to send funds to the account of a third party who may be described as a work colleague or administrator. However, the third party is often a victim themselves who is being used to launder money on behalf of the scammer. 

Some of the most common reasons they give for why they need your help include:

• "I want to meet you, but I don't have enough money to travel to see you."
• "I have been robbed and beaten, I require urgent surgery or treatment for a serious illness; or myself or my family member has been a victim of a serious or fatal accident and you are the only person who can help."
• "I am stranded abroad and I don't have money for travel or visa costs."
• "I am a US or UK serviceman serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. I need to buy myself out to come to see you."
• "My money is tied up in shares or investments."
• "I am in the process of selling my gold mine, oil company or other valuable asset."

Other tell-tale signs are:

• Your new date looks like a model - this is probably because the scammer has used a stolen or magazine picture!
• Your new date only gives you a post office address and/or a phone number which he or she never answers and which does not have voicemail, or they tell you they can only receive text messages.
• Your date talks a lot about herself or himself and does not answer your questions - probably because they are sending standard emails to hundreds of other people at the same time.

What can I do to protect myself?

Only use a reputable online dating or chat service and follow the basic safety tips for online dating:

• Be sceptical and ask yourself simple questions like: "Why am I the only person who can help them when I have only just met them?"
• Test your date - ask them lots of questions, try to phone them or post them something, or possibly suggest meeting them. If all attempts fail, you are probably dealing with a scammer.
• Most important of all, don't ever part with any of your hard earned money. Let's be honest, if you had met this person face-to-face rather than over the internet, do you think you would give them your money if they asked you for it? The answer is likely to be no, so why give it to someone you have never met and who is clearly defrauding you, however much they play on your heart strings?

What can I do if I have already lost money?

If you have already sent money there is little chance of you ever recovering it from them. However what you can do is:

• Contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 for advice and to report the matter
• Call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 for advice and to report the matter
• Report the scam to the dating or chat room site where you met the person.