Kathy was taken aback by the realization, and she still couldn’t believe she had fallen in love with a con artist. She is now making minimum payments on her loans and has postponed her planned retirement until she can pay off her debts.
Web-based dating, such as using dating websites or swiping via online dating apps, appears to be a lot of fun at first, but you’ll quickly realize that finding a true, safe, and authentic match is quite tough. It’s possible that things aren’t always as they seem. While online dating is widely regarded as one of the most effective methods for meeting the right guy or girl for you, there are a number of people out there who exploit people, are untrustworthy with them, and try to exploit them by stealing their resources, money, and other sensitive information in the hopes of causing harm. Kathy, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, said she didn’t understand she was being duped until she watched the Netflix show “The Tinder Swindler,” but she had already spent her whole life savings by that point. She claims she spent $92,000 on a man she believed loved her and is now postponing retirement to pay off the debt. She admitted to being lonely after nearly two years of being at home due to the pandemic.
“This got me thinking. If something like this happens, I don’t want to be alone again. I’d like to have someone here, you know, “Kathy remarked. So she decided to give online dating a try and joined SilverSingles, a site for people over 50. She claimed to have met a charming older gentleman who completely swept her off her feet.
“My heart would just break open every time I heard from him, and I felt I was in love. And it was fascinating, thrilling, and enthralling, “she stated. “And before we hung up, we took turns praying after each phone call, and even then, he was incredibly cute.” He wooed Kathy with texts like “Wonderful morning, wifey, I hope you had a good night’s sleep” and “I love you more than you can ever imagine,” according to Kathy. She, on the other hand, never met her new love in person.
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“I requested a meeting with him. ‘Well, I’m going to Canada for a job, and I have to leave soon,’ he explained. “Kathy made a comment. “‘I need these licenses to work here, and I need $5,000 for each permit,’ he allegedly declared a few weeks after arriving in Toronto. They also refuse to accept any form of payment.’ So I’m thinking, “Yeah, I’d like to assist this man.” You know, I’m starting to like him. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to aid them?” Kathy stated that she had sent him $5,000 in exchange for permission. After he was in an accident, she gave him more money. She then went on to give him more money for his procedure.
“I told them I didn’t have that type of money.” Then we discussed where we might be able to obtain the money. And he kept making suggestions, so I ended up refinancing and taking out a loan against my house,” she explained. And when he required additional money to cover his different tragedies, she claimed she took out loans and sent the money to him.
Kathy claimed that her true love sent her a screenshot of his bank account, demonstrating that he had the funds to repay her. Despite the fact that she had yet to meet him, she had trusted that he would be with her soon. Then she claimed a friend advised her to watch “The Tinder Swindler” on Netflix, in which multiple women claimed to have lost thousands of dollars to a man they met online. That’s when it all came together. “Everything was in sync.” Kathy explained, “I’m stealing Peter to pay Paul so I can get this payment in because he also wrecked my credit.” “I was ejected from my bank. They canceled my account because they suspected me of money laundering.” The amount she sent him in all is shocking. Kathy replied, “a bit over $92,000.” People have reported losing a whopping $1.3 billion to romance scams in the last five years, according to the FTC, the largest of any FTC fraud category. In fact, between 2017 and 2021, the amount of money lost to romance scams surged sixfold. Kathy was taken aback by the realization, and she still couldn’t believe she had fallen in love with a con artist. She is now making minimum payments on her loans and has postponed her planned retirement until she can pay off her debts. If someone requests you to transfer their money over the internet, SilverSingles recommends that you stop communicating with them and report the profile.
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Keep An Eye Out For Red Flags While Dating Online!
Scammers can be quite convincing, but there are techniques to spot one, including, but not limited to, the red signs listed below:
- A need for funds has been made for immediate needs, such as medical fees or an airline ticket. It’s never a smart idea to send money to someone you haven’t met in person.
- Scammers frequently request wire transfers or pre-loaded gift cards as payment.
- The person claims to be from another country or to be in the military.
- The connection is progressing quickly.
- They don’t follow through on pledges to see you in person.
- There’s a lot of pressure to migrate the conversation away from the platform and onto another website or text app.
Determine Which Course of Action To Take
Take the following precautions if you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of a scam:
- Stop communicating with the scammer right away.
- Keep track of any personally identifying information you have about them, such as their email address.
- If you believe you’ve given money to a scammer, contact your bank or credit card company.
- Filing a police report is a good idea.
- Report the scammer to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI (IC3) at ftc.gov/complaint and ic3.gov, respectively.
- Notify the website or app where the scammer was found.
Learn how to protect yourself by vising our website!
Sources
- https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/i-lost-92k-in-an-internet-dating-scam/
- https://abc13.com/tinder-swindler-scam-online-dating-netflix-illinois/11751101/#l21u1si361jfr0bi564
- https://www.indexjournal.com/news/cnn/aurora-woman-loses-over-90k-in-tinder-swindler-style-scam/video_f9829efd-6d4f-51ca-b59f-bd625f659ee9.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/aurora-woman-loses-over-90k-054049348.html
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