Online Dating Scams: Fake Profiles, Requests for Money, Travel Emergencies, Fake Classified, Chat Rooms and More

Facebook Scams

Responding to Friend Requests from people you don't know on Facebook may end up with you being scammed!

If you are active on Facebook, or via classifieds, chat rooms and forums, beware.  Some reports indicate that as much as 30% of the personalities are scams. That beautiful woman (or handsome guy) who just wants to talk with you and needs a friend, may be in love with your wallet or purse, not you! Here are some of the typical scams:

• Hard core scammers set out to con you into sending them money;
• fake profiles intended to redirect you to another website (porn, gambling or even another dating website); or
• real people looking to date... but they are not who they claim to be!

Facebook appears to do very little to police it's profiles or verify that there is a real person who matches them.

For reviews of dating websites and apps, see this page.

How to Recognize an Facebook Scam Artist

The "friend" may not be who or what you think, especially if your friend:

• Says they are "temporarily out of the country"; frequently to care for a sick relative or in the military.
• claims love in a heartbeat
• claims to be from the U.S., but is traveling or working overseas
• plans to visit, but is prevented by a traumatic event or a business deal gone sour
• Scammers also like to say they're out of the country for business or military service.
• Asks for money (ESPECIALLY via Western Union Moneygrams - that is ALWAYS a sign of a scam!)

What You Can Do About a Facebook Scammer

You can report their profile to Facebook, but it looks like they do nothing about it.

1. Send it to us: You can tell us about it and copy messages, their profile url, etc. to send us.  Use the reporting page here.

2. Of course, Never send money!  Scammers often use these excuses to ask you to send them money to cover:

• travel
• medical emergencies (for them or a family member)
• hotel bills
• Theft
• Unexpected business expenses which they say are not covered by their business or insurance
• hospital bills for a child or other relative
• visas or other official documents
• or losses from a temporary financial setback

Don't send money to tide someone over after a mugging or robbery, and don't do anyone a favor by making an online purchase or forwarding a package to another country. One request leads to another, and delays and disappointments will follow. In the end, the money will be gone along with the person you thought you knew.

Here are visitor-submitted reports of dating scams. And here are some key points to remember about the scams.

Also see this page on Russian dating scams.

Actual scam emails received:

1. Eilman Lachiisa
2. Meta Legal Department

What can you do to avoid being scammed on Facebook

Scammers are present everywhere on Facebook. They say they live in your own country, you may be scammed.

Before you invest your time, money or emotions into a long distance Facebook friend, compare what they say against common sense.  Someone who claims to be in love without, sight unseen, never having met you in person, is mostly a scammer or simply unbalanced.

Apply the same common sense rules of safe dating online as you would in person.

• Let friends or relatives know where you are going and when you expect to return when you meet someone from a dating website.
• Always meet in a public place.
• Never send money to someone you met online.
• Especially, never, ever send money via Western Union.

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Report relationship scams to:

• The Federal Trade Commission
• The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center
• Your state Attorney General

 

And please let us know about any suspicious calls or emails you receive.  We look for patterns so that we can alert the authorities and victims to new scams, before it is too late!

 

 

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For a comprehensive list of national and international agencies to report scams, see this page.