Dating Scams Spike At Valentine’s Day

CHICAGO, IL – Online searches include everything from antiques to zebras and in the middle there are those looking for love. Studies indicate however, that one in ten individuals who post to online dating sites is a scammer. As Valentine’s Day draws near the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is urging consumers to be aware of con artist who are out to steal not just your heart but your money as well.

There are many variations of them; but one of the most common scams involves signing up with an online dating site and after doing so receiving a message from someone claiming to work abroad or be in the military and stationed overseas. For a period of time the two communicate via phone and or email forming a connection. After a while they’d like to visit but they need money. Often the money is sent via wire transfer. After it is received, your money is gone and and so is your love interest.

Other online dating ploys include “financial hardships” needing money immediately for a sick family member. Or scammers will use the picture of a member of the military to draw interest.

“These types of scams are tricky because scammers know how to make people feel vulnerable and how to do what they want,” says Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “It is important to NEVER send money to someone you meet online and don’t know much about.”

To avoid online dating scams, be wary of anyone who does the following:

* Asks to talk or chat on an outside email or messaging service. This allows fraudsters to carry out scams without the dating site having a record of the encounter.

* Claims to be from this country but is currently traveling, living or working abroad. In addition to military ploy described above, scammers also pretend to be temporarily working overseas.

* Has a suspicious Facebook profile. Scammers often use the names and photos of real people to create fake Facebook profiles. Their profiles tend to have few friends and contain many grammatical errors. Also, check to see when they joined. Recent pages are another red flag.

* Asks for money or credit card information. In some cases the scammer will claim an emergency like a sick relative or stolen wallet, and will ask people to wire money. The first wire transfer is small but the requests keep coming and growing. Or they may ask for airfare to come for a visit.

* Sends emails containing questionable links to third-party websites. Third-party links can contain malware that’s designed to steal personal information off your computer.In some cases you may become a victim of “ransomware” when a scammer makes your computer inoperable until a fee is paid.

For more information, visit www.bbb.org, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.