A catfish will use your financial situation and whether you're vulnerable to determine whether you're an ideal target. Not all dating scams involve prolonged catfishing, and certain mobile dating app scams differ from dating website scams.įinally, never reveal too much information about yourself to someone you've never met. You should also keep up-to-date on the different types of dating scams emerging, especially those related to the platform you're using. For example, Tinder offers a background check feature. In fact, many scammers use photos of military personnel and soldiers on their profiles.Ĭertain dating apps allow you to choose to match only with verified profiles. This is also the reason why so many scammers claim to work in another country or be on military deployment-it provides them with an excuse for not being able to meet up. Since the scammer is not the person they claim to be, they don't want to meet in person. They Avoid Meet-UpsĪ common line among online dating scammers is that they want to meet you, but when the time comes, there is always some unexpected issue. Moving the relationship very quickly was also one of the red flags of the Tinder Swindler. You should look out for any matches that are overly flattering and overly devoted early on in your communication when you haven't even met. It's also why people who are vulnerable and isolated are such desirable targets-since they're yearning for a connection. This is all part of the emotional manipulation involved in online dating site scams. Within a short period, they may say they love you and that they feel a very deep connection to you. Online dating scammers tend to move very quickly in terms of professing an emotional connection. A feature like disappearing messages on WhatsApp can be used to make sure there's no permanent copy of your conversations.īe wary of anyone you haven't met that wants to move the conversation to another platform. However, they may also choose to message you via SMS or an app like WhatsApp. Often, scammers will want to communicate via messages on social media apps like Facebook or Instagram. This not only helps them get more of your information, but it helps them avoid the safety measures dating apps and sites have in place. Online dating scammers, especially those that catfish their victims, will quickly ask you to move to another form of messaging outside the platform where you met.

They Try to Take the Conversation Elsewhere They also tend to only have one or two photos and do not link their profile to their Instagram or other accounts. On dating apps, scammers and bots will have very limited profile information. Many scammers claim to be on military deployment in another country.Despite looking for singles in your area, they work or live in another country.Their profiles have very few images or images that seem to be model or glamour stock photos.There are a number of signs of a fake online dating profile that could help you identify a scammer before you even connect on the app or website.Ī few typical traits of a scammer's profile include:

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