Recognize Romance Scammers Online: Top Warning Signs

When online dating or on social media, sometimes we get involved with someone online who we have never met in person. While sometimes this works out okay, there are other times where the person is catfishing you. If you suspect that someone that you met online might be pretending to be someone they aren’t, here are some signs that you are talking to a romance scammer online.

Signs That You Are Talking to a Romance Scammer Online 

Their Life is Too Good To Be True

Romance scammers pretend to live a lavish life in order to make themselves sound more desirable to the person they are talking to. They might claim to have millions of dollars that they don’t have access to, or might have a job that requires them to travel all the time. 

If they claim to live this lavish life with a job that makes them unavailable, then chances are they aren’t who they say they are. They are coming up with unique stories to lure you in and make you fall for them. Overseas jobs (like oil rig jobs and being in the military, among others) are good excuses as to why they can’t see you or video chat with you.

They Have Broad Interests

Romance scammers create broad interests when creating their fake dating and social media profiles. They do this so that they can interest as many people as possible to get their hands on their hard-earned cash. 

If someone always agrees with what you are saying and never has a difference of opinion, this is a huge red flag they could be a scammer. They could also claim to have interests that don’t go well together, such as loving opera music and horseback riding.

They Form a Serious Relationship With You Way Too Fast

If someone seems to be flirting with you non-stop after only a few days of knowing you, be cautious. Romance scammers will speed up their relationships with their victims so that they can build trust with them faster. 

They will say that they are falling with you, are in love with you, and want to marry you only after a few months of knowing you. This tactic is a hallmark of many romance scammer stories, where victims are manipulated into trusting the scammer completely. Once they have you hooked, they hope that when they ask for money, you will give it to them without asking any questions.

They Won’t Video Chat You or Meet You in Person

If they are constantly coming up with excuses as to why they can’t video chat you or meet you in person, this could be because they aren’t telling the truth about who they really are. They are also able to fake video chats by taking a video of someone else and voicing over it. This usually results in it being super laggy, to where you can tell that it’s fake. 

They will also avoid meeting you in person by coming up with cancelled flights, accidents, or other excuses. If someone promised to see you, but cancelled last minute for an emergency or absurd reason, then chances are they will never come out to see you. They aren’t who you think they are, but they can’t tell you that so they come up with excuses instead. 

They Ask for Money

Don’t give money to anyone that you met online. If someone is asking you for money, you’re talking to a romance scammer. The only people that will ask for money from an online relationship are scammers. There is no other person that will ask for money for something if they are dating someone online. 

If someone asks you for money, report them immediately to the site you are using and block them. This will protect you from their guilt trips and lies that will eventually convince you to give them money. If you have given someone money online, report it to your local law enforcement immediately. 

They Add You on Social Media Out of Nowhere

Romance scammers will scroll on their social media accounts and look for potential victims to add. Once their victim adds them back, that’s when they spark a conversation with them by calling them gorgeous, beautiful, or how they just had to talk to them.

If you receive a random friend request or message from someone you have never talked to, block them immediately. There is no reason to talk to someone online that you have never met. The only reason someone would randomly want to talk to you is to get their hands on your money. 

They Have Poor Grammar

If someone is messaging you with spelling errors, lack of sentence structure, and you can barely understand them, then chances are you’re talking to a romance scammers. 

Most catfish and romance scammers are from Nigeria, where English isn’t their first language. They learn English quickly to scam people out of money, meaning that their English is not even close to perfect. 

Are You Still Not Sure You Are Talking to a Romance Scammer?

You can perform a reverse search with Social Catfish! All you have to do is go on their website and use their reverse search bar to perform your search. You just need the person’s name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image to perform a reverse search. All it takes is just a few minutes to get your results and make sure you are not talking to a romance scammer.

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