A common sign of a scam is a magazine-quality dating profile pic, love bombing, etc. Don’t send money to anyone you’ve met online, don’t invest in digital assets, ask them for a video chat; be wary of buffering or blurry videos.
50% of Americans who used a dating app between 2018 and 2023 experienced catfishing. In 2023 alone, the total amount lost to romance scams exceeded a billion dollars. UK scam victims lost the equivalent of $36.9 million in 2022, up 41% from the previous year.
The average loss as of January 2023 was $2,000 per victim, according to Aura data, and that excludes the emotional pain of being taken advantage of.
Online dating scam patterns
Protecting yourself starts with spotting a scam. Of course, a scammer will never use their own picture on a dating site. They steal photos of attractive individuals and revealing pictures, and thirst trap poses are typical of fake profiles. A common sign of a scam is a beautiful, magazine-quality profile picture. As scammers typically don’t have access to many photos, they use the same few images across their dating profiles and social media.
They’re quick to profess their love for you. You’ll find the relationship moving extremely fast after you connect. Scammers use “love bombing” techniques to artificially build an emotional bond and suggest you move off the dating platform to Telegram, WhatsApp, or another messaging app. On the love bombing front, there is a gender divide — 63% of men admit they have been love bombed compared to 76% of women.
The next stage is the essence of the scam. Once they think they’ve earned your trust, they start asking for money or other assistance to get them out of trouble. They may ask you to send gift cards, invest in cryptocurrency, or share financial data.
How to protect yourself
Don’t send money to anyone you’ve met online. When someone asks you to send money, it’s always a scam. Criminals often demand wire transfers or other anonymous payment methods that make recovering your funds next to impossible.
Don’t invest in digital assets. The classic scam is where the fraudster tells the victim to deposit funds into a highly lucrative platform that shows high and fake returns. When the victim tries to withdraw their profit or original deposit, it emerges they’re unable to.
There is also the so-called money mule scam, where the fraudster sends the victim money and asks them to transfer it to someone else. This is an elaborate money laundering scheme where the fraudster’s fault cannot be proven.
Scammers on dating sites often claim to be traveling or overseas, which is why they can’t meet you in person. Ask them for a video chat. If they agree, observe their use of language, video quality, and behavior. If how they look or communicate is inconsistent with how they act by text, you might be dealing with a scammer.
Many swindlers use buffering or blurry videos to make it appear like you’re meeting the actual person. Someone who claims their internet connection is bad and quickly ends the video chat could be lying.
Trust your intuition. Cut off contact if you get a bad feeling about them. Alternatively, you could document your communication if you suspect you’re talking to a scammer so you have evidence against them. You can take screenshots of the conversation.
Online dating scammers frequently have no digital footprint because they create fake profiles using stolen data and photos. They won’t have a social media presence, school listings, or work or college accounts.
The end goal
Romance scams have different end goals, but usually two main ones. The first is getting you to divulge personal data so they can steal your identity. In 2024, AI-driven identity theft scams are expected to increase. The more common goal is money – as much as possible. The scam might go on for months or years. The amount a victim stands to lose can reach $1 million.
