Are Foreign Dating Sites a Scam

If you are using Thai, Filipino, Russian or Ukrainian dating sites, are you being set up for a scam?

Specialist detectives could tell you if the person you have met online has other boyfriends for as
little as $29.99.

Dating sites are becoming an increasingly common way for men from the west to meet girls from Thailand, Philippines, Russia or the Ukraine. But there are some essential things to remember when using dating sites or social media to meet girls, particularly Russian girls,

Ukraine girls or girls from the Far East:

• Some of these dating sites are fake – they have been set up as genuine dating websites but in reality are only there to obtain innocent people’s identity and bank account details. So, watch out as you complete your dating site profile and pay your subscription, the information could all be being downloaded by organised criminals for the purpose of fraud or identity theft. Only use reputable sites with a history of providing good security and service.

• Some of the dating or social media site profiles you see will defiantly be fake (you may not even be chatting or corresponding with a real girl). The profile may have been posted to lure men into a trap in an attempt to defraud them by a fictitious ‘hard luck’ story or, to keep subscribers staying on the site and persuaded into buying extra credits, or spending money to upgrade their membership.

• Some of the girls posting on dating site masquerade as someone they are not; from the outset their aim is to financially or sexually exploit other site users or their families.

• If you decide to travel to meet someone you have encountered you have only met online carries personal safety risks only do so with extreme caution.

• Please note that scammers are increasing using social media to entrap and scam victims. Using social media is no safer than using dating sites.

• Many of the girls are using the same dating site profile to meet other men as well as you, you may be one of many men being ‘juggled’ and being told that ‘ You are the only one’ and ‘there is nobody else my love’.

How can you help protect yourself when using dating sites or social media when meeting people?

• Choose your dating site or social media forum carefully (look for an established site).

• Protect your privacy, never disclose confidential, personal information or intimate photographs – look at our general advice about safe internet surfing.

• Even if you are feeling lonely or vulnerable don’t let yourself get emotionally drawn into an online relationship and leave yourself susceptible to financial exploitation – the person you have met may not be who they say they are and they may not even actually exist. Although scammers can sometimes take months or years grooming their victims before asking for money they frequently claim to have fallen in love with their victims in a matter of weeks. Beware of suspiciously quick utterances of undying love... they are the sure warning signs of a scammer.

• Note; scammers tell their potential victims they have fallen in love quickly because they don’t want to waste valuable time on somebody who is not responsive or potentially receptive to being scammed. If a victim responds positively, by telling them they love them back, they [the scammer] are then able to move onto the next stage (a request for money). If a person does not respond positively they just move onto their next victim.

Be very careful if you do decide to travel to the Far East Russia or the Ukraine meet somebody you have met on a dating site in person. Follow good safety advice when considering how to travel, where to stay, where to meet, having fun and socialising, including advice about how to protect yourself if you’re meeting someone in person who you’ve connected with online.