Dating sites and apps can either bring new interesting acquaintances into our lives or poison it – scammers and various scammers are not asleep. Victoria Shabanova, lawyer, head of a law firm, told us about the main rules when communicating on dating apps in order to protect yourself and your personal data.
Carefully study the person’s profile
Very often scammers post photos that are not their own. And, as a rule, the people in the pictures they publish are very attractive and endearing. Victoria: “If you have any doubts, ask to go on a video call. If your chosen one refuses you, this is the first reason for concern.”
Keep your head “cool”
The expert warns, never transfer money to anyone, no matter what plaintive story they tell you. And even more so, you should not give your card details to a secret stranger. “It is advisable to ask for documents that confirm your identity when you meet,” our expert recommends. And you don’t need to think that by doing this you will offend your admirer. First and foremost is your safety. Any sane person should respond adequately to such a request.
be careful with new acquaintancesChichi Onyekanne/unsplash.com Do not open suspicious links Victoria: “I also do not recommend clicking on dubious links sent to you by secret admirers. All this could take several thousand out of your accounts.” It will be good if you give your chosen one a phone number to which no bank cards are linked. No sexting at the initial stage Our expert does not recommend exchanging intimate photos until you get to know the person better and find out his identity, because often the sender of the intimate becomes a victim from whom money is extorted under the threat of disseminating these videos/photos.
Bonus advice from a lawyer:
“As a rule, fraud begins naturally, and it is very difficult to recognize the villain. Fraudsters select potential victims either on their own, or wait until the person falls for his charming appearance,” says Victoria. Married girls are often the victims, because in most cases they will not even go to complain to the police; the husband may find out that his wife visited dating sites secretly from him.
When you can reduce the degree of suspicion
As a rule, only after six months can you completely trust a person, since scammers are not committed to long-term relationships. By the way, scammers often use other people’s texts and write messages very poorly. At first they shower the victim with compliments, and later they tell a heart-warming story about the situation they find themselves in. After this, they usually send their account or phone number to which they will ask to transfer money. Victoria: “In such a situation, you must immediately stop contact with the fan, because in the event of a transfer, you will not only lose your own funds, but you yourself may be held accountable, for example, for facilitating terrorist activities.”