Unfortunately, as some people can attest, you might just meet some scammers.
We hear these stories all the time, and they tend to go a little like this: “I met this really nice woman on [fill in the name of the dating site]. Her membership was about to expire, so we switched to email. She’s from the US, but she’s working in [fill in the name of another country]. We connected right away, and we’re planning to meet. But things are a little tight for her right now because of [fill in reason for no money]. So I wired her the money for the ticket….”
It’s easy to get caught up in the moment. It really is. You’re on a dating site to meet people, and it seems like you have. But let the warning bells ring if you see or hear:
- an immediate request to leave the site. Many online dating sites have protections in place to help protect you from scammers.
- love at first sight. Most of us are hopeful people, but wow – love based on a profile and a couple of emails? Hmm. Sure, explore that, but watch out.
- any request for money. ANY request. For any reason: plane tickets, visas, a child’s (mother’s, whoever’s) hospital bill, expenses until their ship comes in…. That is a sure sign of a scam. Block and delete them and move along.
- any mention of wiring money. If you wire money, it’s gone. Buh-bye. You’ll never see it again. Good for scammers, bad for you.
So, in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, do everyone a favor especially yourself: keep in mind that you want someone who’s after you, not your money – and that warning bells can sound like wedding bells if you’re not listening carefully.