6 Ways to Spot Digital Love Fraud | Hecticality

     Love is a feeling we all strive for from infancy till the day we say goodbye to this world for our next big adventure. Some people find it easily while others strive for it until they find themselves in desperation. 

     In this day of electronic excess many who find themselves in this desperation are turning to dating websites such as match.com and eharmony.com because they promise to fulfill the heart’s desire. 

     This can be a dangerous feat however especially for those unlucky folks who find themselves at the beginning of retirement with no one to share their free time with. With their children running families of their own and spouses either deceased or divorced these retirees can easily find themselves longing for affection and bonds with others.This can leave them wide open for one of the biggest markets in the scamming business now; The scam of love fraud. 

     A simple ”tell me a little about yourself” conversation can give a scammer most of the information he needs to determine if you are a good candidate for getting money. For instance, a divorcee or widower with out of state children and a fresh retirement (which means a full retirement fund to pull from) can be easy picking.

     These people will make up a back story and family life and will always have a lot in common with the victim. One story I have heard was an Archeologist who was flown to turkey before he could meet his new “beloved” then one of the machines broke and he couldn’t get back home to her until it was paid for. They took his passport to prevent him from fleeing and now his bill just keeps increasing due to 100/night hotel bill.

      A second story is a marine who is deployed and just got an inheritance which is stuck in customs and $30,000 is needed so he can get his money out. One only needs to do a quick google search to discover the heavy volume of different stories which end up with the same outcome; a broken heart, and an empty bank account.

     The scammers are by no means stupid either. They know that they don’t get audited as long as they keep the transactions under $10,000. They spend a month or two getting to know their victim and saying all the right things. These scammers even go so far as to get their victims sexually aroused through sexting and erotic phone calls. The loads of promises of course will never be kept. 

      How Do You Tell if They Are Genuine?

1. Will They Meet You. Don't get overly attached until you meet the person. 
2. Are They Mysteriously Out of Town. If they can't meet after more than a week or two get outta there.
3. One Hazard After Another. Are they experiencing crazy circumstances beyond their control? Tell me one successful person who would leave this country for work or family without a plan. Would you?
4. No Meeting And I Need Money. Did someone you've never meet just ask you for money. Ugh At least take me dancing or rub my feet first.
5. Extenuating Circumstances Increasing. Do they try to make it feel like if you don't send the money then it is your fault that they fall into even more horrible situations?
6. Money Already Sent But More Needed. Have you sent them what they asked for and all of a sudden something else goes wrong. Believe me they will keep going until you have nothing left and then they will take off with your money.

When In Doubt, Get Advice From Family and Friends Before it is too Late.

     The Third case is a lady whom has sent money several times and her grand daughter backwards ran the pictures through the internet and found out that the real man behind the pictures was a Russian man. She found his phone number and actually let grandma talk to the real guy. Grand daughter also tracked his ip address to a completely different country than he said he was in and it was in the middle of no where. A little series of shacks in a forest.

     In some cases the scammers are confronted by their victims and admit to being a scammer and say that they are only trying to feed their family but you are special and I actually did fall in love with you. This route can lead down  a much more dangerous road where the victim is sending money even though they know they were being scammed.

      At the end of the day, there is nothing like good old fashioned getting yourself out there, doing the things you love and getting someone to notice you because they also love the things that you love.