How To Identify An Online Dating Scam

Knowing how to identify an online dating scam can help you to be more successful in online dating. By avoiding fraudulent online dating schemes, you'll be better able to focus your time and energy on legitimate dating sites. The following signs can help you to identify an online dating scam.

1. A personal ad redirects you to another website. This online dating scam typically occurs when you respond to an online personal ad, and the reply you receive asks you to visit another website, for which a link is included. This website is typically a webcam or porn site, or even another dating site, trying to get you to pay a fee to join.
2. She wants you to send her money. You may meet a seemingly great, beautiful woman through an online dating website or other classified site. Things are going well, when all of a sudden she starts asking for large sums of money. She may say she needs it for a personal or family emergency; or, if she claims to live far away, she might say she needs the money to fund a trip to come meet you.
3. She wants your personal/financial information. Online dating scams can easily be identified by a potential date asking for your personal/financial information, such as your Social Security number or credit card information. Some schemes involve a woman from another country claiming a need to transfer money to the United States and therefore requiring your bank account number.
4. You receive a random, unsolicited email. Some online dating scams begin by receiving an unsolicited email, sometimes even arriving in your spam folder, which is a sure sign that it's a scam being sent to multiple potential victims. If you respond to the email, you'll likely find yourself being targeted by one of the aforementioned scams, such as wanting you to join a webcam site or asking for your financial information.