Dear kuluto
As part of our dating community we know you are savvy enough to not be taken in by an online dating scam - and yet hundreds of thousands of people are scammed every single year. So how do you avoid falling prey to an internet dating scam in the first place? The following tips will help you stay safe online:
Tip #1 - Never, EVER provide financial or banking information to anyone!
Most singles have come across the telltale internet dating scam:
- assisting with an online "contest" or helping to reach a vote count
- providing a credit card for age verification to view a personal webcam
- being asked to either cash someone's check or money order for them
- being asked outright for money
If somebody asks you to "help" them - no matter what the reason, no matter how plausible or sad it sounds - don't do it! Chances are the intention is to rob you of your hard earned cash! This holds especially true for someone you've never met in person!
Tip #2 - Use Caution When Giving Out Your Personal Email Address & Contact Information!
It's become a trend for online scammers to move communication away from the dating site and over a free email address (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) or instant messenger service (Yahoo Instant Messenger, Skype, etc.). The reason being in case their dating profile is terminated along with their contacts, they can still communicate with you and try to push their scam onto you through an "outside" message service. We are regularly policing our site and remove anyone suspected of being a scammer or anyone who is reported to us by our members as being scammers. Use our email and instant message services until you feel it is safe to meet your perfect match.
Tip #3 - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Although models, actors and other extremely attractive people want to find love too, and you may very well have lucked out in the attractiveness category with the person you are communicating with online, the saying holds true for internet dating scams: if the person's photo looks too good to be true, that's because it probably is! As with many things in life, don't judge a book by its cover and always do a bit of investigating to avoid being scammed. Scammers often write in poor broken English and indicate an urgency for you to help them or for you to reveal your private contact information. It is very important that you never send people your personal contact details until you are comfortable you can trust them.
Tip #4 - Alert us of suspicious activity!
If you are suspicious of someone's behavior, please alert us so we can investigate and remove accounts owned by any unethical users of our site. Our staff works 24/7 and every alert is addressed quickly with swift action.
Do not let a rotten apple stop you from finding a match online. Many people have found their perfect match with a local or foreign partner they've met on the web. Just remember that Internet dating scams are real and staying alert will help you avoid any ill-fated scenarios.