21 July 2022

Online Dating Scams: 3 Scamming Schemes to Be Wary Of

Staying safe on dating apps is important. We’re constantly working on new ways to ensure your safety and comfort in dating, in particular on Pure. Unfortunately, scamming is still a common phenomenon online – and scammers are getting better at what they do every day. All kinds of scams exist nowadays: cryptocurrency scam (bitcoin), military scam, and even inheritance scam.

MAKE ME SCAM

Scamming is a term used to describe fraud of any kind. The typical online dating scam scheme starts with Joe from Connecticut impersonating seductive Bethany from New York to try and steal your money. The main goal that unites all of the world’s best and worst scammers is to steal your money, or worse, steal your personal information too - and get away with it.

Are you going to give in and give the scammer what they want? No way! So, let’s have a look at the most typical scamming methods and try to learn from them. Forewarned is forearmed, right?

SCHEME 1: Cinematic Experience

You’re chatting with someone and it’s going great. The girl is laughing at your jokes, sending nude pictures, flirting, then suddenly goes:

“By the way, I wanna catch a movie this Saturday. Already got a ticket. Would you be down to join?”

Surely you would love to take a girl to the movies - and who wouldn’t?

Her next move is sending you a link with a short message along the lines of:

“Look, they still have tickets available – hurry up! I’m in the second row, seat 7.” https://veryrealcinema.com/we-promise-this-is-not-a-scam/buy/ticket

You open the link, the website doesn’t look all that sketchy, you enter your credit card info and click “check out”. Well, how do we put this lightly... say goodbye to your card and maybe even your bank account!

This tale is as old as time – and you’re always promised a spectacular first date. The websites look real and reliable. And yes, it’s always a fraud. We try to be efficient at blocking these URLs, but new websites appear within minutes. Most often the victim is first asked to “switch to a different messenger” like WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber or Facebook Messenger, and only then steal your money.

So please, be wary of people trying to get you to buy something online, for them or yourself. Don’t buy it – literally and figuratively

SCHEME 2: Threatening to leak your photos

You’re chatting with someone and it’s going great. Yes, the same scenario. At one point, the person wants to switch to WhatsApp or some other chat messenger. You’re full of excitement and passion, so you say yes – and the conversation continues.

They ask for nudes while actively sending you theirs. The story ends, however, as soon as they get a hold of your private material:

“Hey, we saved this entire chat. Here’s a link to your social media. If you don’t transfer $500 to this account, we’re mass-sending your nudes to everyone you know and follow”

Thanks to the AI tools, finding someone’s social media from their photos takes seconds, so the threat is quite real here. In this case, we would recommend cutting the conversation immediately and going private on socials – there is a high likelihood the threat message had been sent before they actually went through your following list.

We do everything in our capacity to avoid this from happening on Pure: we blocked screenshots, the photos self-destruct after they’ve been viewed – all of this lowers the risk of scammers trying to steal from you by threatening to expose private information.

So please, if you’ve been asked to “switch to another messenger” – don’t do it!

And of course, make sure your nude pictures can’t be traced back to you: avoid distinct features that could be identified, keep your face out of the photo, have a neutral background. If you need more tips, we have a useful guide on taking and sending nudes.

SCHEME 3: Asking you to come over right away

“Okay, less talking, more doing - come over right now and let’s get it on”

Confidence is great. So is assertiveness - very attractive. Don’t you feel like a message of this kind sounds too good to be true? We know you’re irresistible, no doubt here, but there is a chance you’ll be met with something other than a warm embrace of your match.

Scammers rarely go offline, but taking precautions is smart - and never a waste of time.

Meet up somewhere in public, like a restaurant or a coffee place. Any crowded spot would work. Still, feel like risking it and saying yes? Then at least let someone reliable know your whereabouts beforehand

How to identify a scammer when dating online

They’re behaving weird

Conversation always feels off with a scammer. Usually, scammers operate according to carefully prepared scenarios, so they might reply weirdly, especially when something doesn’t go according to plan. Stay unpredictable and ask questions! Like, if they like persimmons or what their dream tattoo would be.

They’re rushing you to do something

Many of us dream of someone so reckless and straightforward they’ll take us to their bedroom right away, but… are you 100% sure that is the case? Tell them you prefer to take things slow and go with the flow, and most likely, the scammer will just leave you alone. Natural selection, let’s say.

They want to switch to WhatsApp, Kik or another messenger

Yes, maybe other apps really are more convenient for the other person, but the stakes are too high to risk it.

Their photos are suspicious / Their photos don’t match

Does your match look like your favorite adult movie star? Congratulations, happy for you! But let’s make sure those photos aren’t someone else’s downloaded from the internet. Ask them to send a photo with four fingers up. Or a random object in their hand. Be spontaneous – make it a challenge!

They’re sending you links

Let’s examine this link: Instagram.com/darkangel1969
Looks real enough? Well, this is what phishing is.

Phishing is a scammer is trying to persuade you by making a somewhat believable link. Learn to identify them and differentiate real ones from real-appearing ones. Or better yet, just stay on Pure. It’s safer here.

After reading all of the above, you might feel like no one can be trusted and online dating is full of fraud and deceit. Don’t get discouraged! Most people on Pure are real, breathing-living humans that would be happy to connect with you. Just be careful, take precautions, and prioritize your safety above all! Dating online comes with pros and cons, but as long as you stick to the rules, you will be safe and won’t get scammed.