Dating site scams south africa

From dating to defrauding: Online romance scams surge as criminals cash in on lonely South Africans

It also reports that online dating scams are used by fraudsters to launder the illicit proceeds of crime. In , eight suspects were arrested in Cape Town in connection with an online dating scam and stealing more than R million from victims in various countries. When visiting online dating platforms, be aware of photos that look too good to be true. An image search on Google can help you determine if the photo is authentic or a stolen or stock photo. Other red flags include requests for private information such your ID number, declarations of love alarmingly early in the relationship, or a request for money to help them out of a situation. Another new trend in was an increase in reports of romance scammers luring consumers into fake cryptocurrency investment schemes. A common modus operandi is scammers using emotional manipulation to get a victim to send money, gifts, or personal information. Another common, and extremely traumatising, form of deception is sextortion. This begins as a seemingly normal relationship before the scammer pressures the victim into sending intimate photos or videos which are used as material to blackmail the victim.

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Romance scams are continually evolving. To learn more about them, pore over these online dating scam statistics, plus tips to help you stay safe in In our modern world, finding love has stretched far beyond the bounds of meeting someone face-to-face. Dating apps have opened up a whole new realm of possibilities, connecting hearts across cities, countries, and even continents.

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Masquerading as a pilot, promising love and visits, a year-old man wooed women in their 60s on social media. But the foreign national's alleged romance scam ran out of runway after detectives from the Western Cape commercial crimes unit caught wind of it.

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Online dating scams and how to avoid them

Technology has disrupted many aspects of traditional life. When you are sitting at dinner and seeing a couple going out on a "first date", consider that this may be their first in-person date and that they have been interacting dating online for months. According to global data and business intelligence platform, Statista, the number of online dating users in South Africa is expected to reach 6.

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