Online Dating Scams – 419 Advance Fee Fraud

How to enjoy internet dating without being conned

For as long as there have been online dating sites there have also been those who seek to exploit others for financial gain. Many dating sites do not warn you of the dangers, but we believe that everyone should be aware of the small but significant risk in order that they can continue to enjoy online dating safe in the knowledge that they can recognise a con artist when they are contacted by one.

First, let’s take a look at the infamous Nigerian or West African 419 scam.

The 419 Fraud – What it is and how it works

The 419 scam involves convincing the unsuspecting victim that they should send some money to the scammer as by doing so it will ensure the transfer of much greater wealth. For this reason this scam is also referred to the as the Advanced Fee Fraud (AFF).

This scam has been attempted millions of times in spam emails sent around the world to individuals and to businesses, not just in online dating. However, the criminals realised that the personal nature of online dating sites in which people open themselves up to communicate with others meant that there was a greater chance of the victims falling for the con.

The scam begins with an email or letter containing a story about funds that are locked in an account abroad. The sender will usually identify themselves as a professional or military person or perhaps a politician, and the reason the funds are supposedly free for the taking is often due to the recent death of a wealthy person with no claimants on the estate.

The sender explains that a mutual business associate has suggested that the target might be willing to be the recipient of these funds in exchange for a generous commission. If the target falls for the story then the scammer further explains that they need a small money transfer of a few thousand pounds or dollars in order to pay for certain expenses. The target transfers the money in expectation of the greater reward and then all communication ceases.

Key Points:

• Be alert for any such story or any variations of it
• Be cautious of anyone claiming to be from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and other west African countries seeking to gain your attention and trust
• Never agree to transfer money abroad
• Never reveal any personal information, particularly bank account details

The 419 Fraud – Online Dating

Scammers join online dating sites because they know that the members of such sites are actively looking for contact with total strangers. They know that the site members are open to approaches from others and they also know that they may be more emotionally vulnerable and therefore easier to manipulate.

Not all online dating site administrators are vigilant enough to weed out the fake profiles and those who have criminal intent within their site’s membership. It is an ongoing process of prevention (stopping such individuals joining in the first place), and taking action when such persons are identified. For this reason a fee paying site which uses the revenue to pay for full time administrative staff is sometimes a better option than totally free online dating sites as they are trained and employed to carry out the necessary checks.

Even so, a scammer can slip through the net and begin an online relationship with someone. At first all seems normal and certain amount of trust is built up. This could take weeks or even months as the scammer will be doing the same on several dating sites and may not be in any great hurry as he or she knows that eventually their efforts may bear fruit. Once the criminal has gained the trust of the target he/she will gently explain a problem that can be solved with only a small amount of money.

The scammer will describe what appears at face value to be a perfectly plausible situation and the amount of money they need will not be a great deal. It will probably be quite affordable to someone of any means in Europe or America.

Here are some of the more common situations that a scammer might describe:

• I urgently need money to pay for emergency medical treatment for a member of my family.
  
• I am desperate to get to the UK to visit you, but I can’t afford the flight.
  
• I am desperate to fly to XYZ to visit a sick relative.
  
• I am determined to pass my exams but I have run out of money.

There could be many other variations on the above. Whatever the story it will involve the need for some funds to be transferred direct to the scammer. If the target is gullible enough to send the money they will never hear from the scammer again, even if they have been in contact several times a week for many months.

How do you identify a potential scammer or the 419 scam?

Start by examining every detail of the profile and check the particulars of the individual in as many ways as the online dating site allows you to. Pay particular attention to the following:

• Country of origin. Do they admit to being west African, Nigerian, Ghanaian etc.?
• Standard of English. Does it seem likely that English is their first language based on what they have added to their profile?
• Profile photos. Does the photo look genuine? Could it be a picture of a model stolen from another site? Does it look posed or fake?
• Sob stories. Has the person contacted you suddenly with some tale of woe or a dire emergency? Are they pleading for help and appealing to your emotional vulnerability?
• Email address. Do they immediately ask you to contact them away from the dating site using an email address they have sent you, or do they ask you for your email address?

One of the above alone may not be enough to prove that you are in contact with a scammer. Not everyone from west Africa is out to scam you and there are many genuine and honest people from all over the world who join online dating sites in order to meet people in Europe and the USA. However, two or more of the above might suggest that you should proceed cautiously.

What to do if you think you are in touch with a scammer

Perhaps having read the above you are now suspicious of one of your contacts and you are beginning to wonder if you have become too trusting of an individual.

Perhaps you have now realised that you have become the victim of a scam and you have already sent some money. Either way there are steps you can take to put and end to this and to minimise the damage to your wallet and to your heart.

• Do NOT send any (more) money. This is the first, last, and Golden Rule.
• Do NOT feel guilty. You have done nothing wrong and you have nothing to be ashamed of.
• Do NOT continue to communicate with the scammer. This can be more difficult than it sounds if you are naturally courteous but you must resist the urge to respond.
• Inform the dating site administrators and keep a record of all the correspondence you have had with the scammer. Pass on theses details to the administrators. Such information might be useful in tracking the person or even as evidence in the event of a criminal prosecution.

Sadly, if you have already sent money to one of these criminals there is very little chance of you recovering your funds, but a crime has been committed so you should inform the Police. By doing so you may prevent some other person becoming a victim in a similar way. The Police are aware of this type of fraud and have specialist teams who investigate them

Surely it’s the online dating site’s responsibility to prevent such activity!

A reputable online dating site will do as much as humanly possible to prevent scammers from joining the site, and they will follow up any reports of suspicious activity. They will use IP address filtering techniques to prevent people from certain countries joining the site and they will employ other security measures to maintain the integrity of the site.

However, even the best online dating sites cannot be responsible for what passes between two individuals who build up a relationship in which trust develops and which leads on to a fraud. Members themselves have to remain alert to the warning signs.

Poorly run online dating sites may have few or no checks at all so make sure you use sites which are professionally run and managed.

Keep your heart and your wallet out of harm’s way

Everything we do in live involves an element of risk. From crossing the road, driving the car, travelling abroad, or carrying out some DIY in the house, we expose ourselves to a myriad of risks in all kinds of ways.

Online dating does also involve some risk but just as you can minimise the dangers in all other areas of your life you can also keep the risk of being scammed to a minimum by remaining alert to the warning signs.

Meanwhile, continue to enjoy your online dating experiences as the rewards far outweigh the risks!

More information:

• Advance Fee Fraud – an explanation given by Wikipedia
• Advance Fee Fraud – Paying money for a promise of wealth (419 Fraud) – Metropolitan Police website
• Scambusters 419 – insight into the way the 419 con artists operate.
• 419 Eater – a site which takes the novel approach of beating the scammers at their own game.

Protect yourself from bogus soldiers trying online scams

Love is a battlefield according to singer Pat Benatar – and if you have a passion for men or women in uniform, make sure you don’t fall victim to a bogus love cheat trying to con you out of cash.

The scam goes like this – a woman usually spots a photo of a guy online that she likes or is contacted by someone from a military dating site.

They talk online for a while and build a relationship and everything seems too good to be true – which means it usually is.

After a while, the guy suggests that you can talk privately to him by satellite telephone – but he explains that due to security, setting up the call involves you in some sort of registration that involves passing personal details.

Stop right there!

If you receive an email or message like this, then the person at the other end is unlikely to be a genuine serviceman is ‘phishing’ for bank or credit details.

The next step is the satellite call involves a cost of around $500 and the bogus guy at the other end makes excuses why he can’t pay because he is posted abroad and asks you to settle the bill and he will pay you back sometime later.

This is why however much you trust someone you should never, ever give your personal banking information out to someone you do not know.

Dating forums are full of similar stories from women who have lost thousands of pounds to this sick swindlers preying on sometimes vulnerable people simply looking for some romance in their lives.

Some have unfortunately paid up for the satellite calls and then the con artists has then asked them to pay for flights so he can come and see them on his next leave.

Watch out for any scammers – especially if the firm ‘Ts2 Satellite Provider’ or the elusive Sgt Jeff Miller, a name often used in the ruse, crop up.

Safety first

Every Love Services profile is manually checked out as far as reasonably possible to protect registered members from this kind of scam.

* Do not send any cash under any circumstances to any other Love Services member

* Contact us straight away with the profile details of the person involved if you feel in anyway the member is bogus

Our intention is to help service people and their friends have a safe and trusting environment to meet online and loveservices will immediately act on any report of a suspected scammer.

Dating Site Scams

How to Enjoy Online Dating While Avoiding the Risks of Cons and Fraud.

Everything we do in life carries with it an element of risk. We can never remove all risks from our life but we can use common sense precautions and our instincts to avoid most pitfalls. Online dating carries some risks but there is plenty you can do to ensure your heart and your wallet are protected while using dating sites and when meeting anyone for dates.

The first thing you can do to protect yourself when using an online dating site is to review your profile. How much information have you freely given away while describing yourself? The key is to be honest about your likes and dislikes, to reveal enough about yourself to make the profile interesting and attractive, but at the same time protect your true identity. For example, don't be tempted to disguise a phone number or email address in the profile text areas in an attempt to circumvent the subscription service on the site. Not only will your profile be suspended but you may give away details that could attract unwanted attention from unsavoury characters or spammers.

If your chosen dating site is run with a degree of integrity and if membership includes things like SMS messaging then the administrators of the site should have put safeguards in place so that you can display a profile but your email address, phone number, date of birth, and post or zip code are kept secret. This is private information that you should only reveal when you choose to do so. It will still be possible for the site administrators to contact you via email and to send you text messages, but they should have put security measures in place to prevent unauthorised use of this information.

Getting to know someone on an online dating site can be fun and exciting. If you're the romantic type you might build up all kinds of mental imagery about the person you're receiving message from, but before you rush off to plan your new life together take a pause along each stage of the journey to consider your instincts. The human instinct is a powerful tool and one we should learn to trust. Dating can be a bit of a balancing act. On the one hand there is the urge to be open with someone you're attracted to, but at the same time your instinct advises you to keep something back. Trust that inner voice that gently suggests you take a slower pace. Your heart may thank you for it one day.

Another unfortunate aspect of online dating sites is the con artist. A good con artist is not only believable but very convincing. One of the favourite frauds is where a beautiful woman in a foreign country strikes up an online relationship with a man and starts to profess undying love for him and deep attraction for him. The man is flattered and can't believe his luck. He starts to imagine all kinds of wishes and dreams being fulfilled. The woman plays on this and tells him that she'll soon be in his arms, but first she needs a few hundred dollars for the air fare if she's to travel to him. Excited by the women's passionate promises the man gladly obliges by sending over the cash, and then waits in vain for his heart's desire to turn up at the airport!

A variation on the con explained above is where a woman describes her sadness and despair due to her own illness or that of a close member of her family. The man takes pity on her and sends her money for treatment or other medical bills. Once again she vanishes with the cash.

It's often the men that are duped in this way, but women should not be smugly complacent. Men can be equally cunning and deceptive. They can lure a woman abroad with promises of a luxurious lifestyle and on arrival she may find that only are the surroundings less than first class but that she will incur additional expense just to complete the visit and will have to fund her own travel back home when she discovers that her handsome, romantic prince falls short in all respects!

Having put you off online dating forever, please be assured that these things happen very rarely. I describe them here for you in order to point them out and steer you away from the pitfalls. You wouldn't cross the road without checking the traffic coming in both directions, and you wouldn't drive at 100mph in the fog. Take sensible precautions with online dating, trust your instincts, and pause for thought before taking any big steps and you'll be able to enjoy many happy days (and nights) with someone who adores you and whom you can trust.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Lovegrove
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Enjoy-Online-Dating-While-Avoiding-the-Risks-of-Cons-and-Fraud&id=2690498