How to Avoid Romance Scams

by | Feb 2, 2022 | scams, tips for everyone |

Yes, it CAN happen to you

It’s no secret that dating apps are crawling with catfish. Romance scammers are everywhere and the dangers are real.

People write in to DateID with horror stories every day. They are routinely losing anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

I know what you’re thinking: It won’t happen to me.

Think again.

Smart, savvy people get scammed all the time.

I’ve been catfished more times than I can count, including on all the well-known dating apps. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve nearly fallen for it more than once.

And I’m supposed to be an expert on this!

When you see a beautiful woman (or a handsome man) on a dating app or website, it can be hard to resist. Due to the “ostrich bias”, which is the natural tendency we all have to ignore negative information, digital daters are prone to overlook signs that there could be a scammer hiding behind the dating profile.

Online dating romance scam

Dating sites like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid! and Match are all rife with scammers. The niche dating websites that cater to people with certain lifestyles or identities are even worse. They usually have no fraud team whatsoever.

Hookup sites are probably the worst of all. Some hookup sites, like BeNaughty, One Night Friend, No Strings Attached, Together Tonight, Flirt and Tonight’s Hookup don’t have any real women at all.

The more mainstream ones, like Adult Friend Finder and Ashley Madison have at least as many scammers as real people.

There are many, many, many scams out there, but the verification scam is the most common one. Only DateID does legit ID verification. Do not trust any other service claiming to do verification for dating.

Here’s an example of the beginning of the classic verification scam as seen on Tinder.

hookup ID romance scamIn this classic romance scam, a bot asks you to get verified.

Fake hookup ID profileA fake hookup verification profile that’s alarmingly convincing

 

Here’s a prime example of a fake ID. The code, bar code and chip are all fake. Eliza Fox does not exist as a real person.

You’re on your own

Don’t count on the dating companies to protect you. They’re not interested.

Match.com recently lost a multimillion-dollar lawsuit after being found guilty of knowingly allowing scammers to remain on the platform (because it increased subscriptions and Match made more money).

The consequences of romance scams can be anywhere from mild to severe. Best case you waste a few hours of your time. Worst case, you get your heart broken and lose thousands of dollars.

Bottom line, you need to protect yourself. And DateID can help.

How to Avoid Romance Scams

Here are four sure-fire ways to avoid romance scams.

1. Ask your love interest to verify their identity

If you have any suspicions that you’re being catfished, ask the person to verify their identity on DateID.

They’ll need to level up to Gold for you to be 100% sure. That way they can do a “liveness test” and upload a driver license or passport. This combination is virtually impossible to spoof. If they won’t, they may be a scammer.

If they say they can’t afford a Gold membership, have them do photo and location verification, which is free. Read more about DateID verifications.

2. Ask them to verify their photos

You can also ask them to join DateID, for free, and upload recent photos. Photos will show the date they were originally taken once verified. If they can’t produce anything recent, they’re not the person behind the photos.

3. Ask them to verify their location

Verifying your location on DateID is also free, so why wouldn’t they?

4. Background check them on DateID

If you have a name, email address, phone number, social media username or profile URL, run it through DateID and see what comes back.

Date searches databases that contain virtually every digital record in existence, so if it can’t be found, it’s probably because they’re using a “burner” account. If that’s the case, there’s a high likelihood you’re being scammed.

5. Add your username and watermarked photos to dating apps

Your free DateID membership includes a unique username, profile URL and unlimited downloads of watermarked photos. Add them to your dating app profiles to show you’re savvy, and you’ll deter scammers right out of the gate.

Scammers know what DateID is (they hate us) and know our members are savvy. Once they see you’re a member they’ll move on to an easier target.

Save yourself time, money, and heartache. Always take measures to protect yourself if you have any suspicions at all.

Romance scammers be gone

If you’re reading this, maybe you’re concerned that you’re being catfished. I really want you to stay safe so, I’ll give you free background check. Use promo code CATFISH at checkout and we’ll waive any fees.

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Remy Tennant
DateID Founder
Remy’s a tech marketer, entrepreneur and serial online dater who founded DateID after going on one too many bad first dates. He’s been online dating on and off since 2005 and watched things gradually go downhill as online dating entered the mainstream. Remy believes that lies, deception, and lack of accountability are some of the roots of the problem, and that increased transparency is part of the solution.
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Remy Tennant
DateID Founder
Remy’s a tech marketer, entrepreneur and serial online dater who founded DateID after going on one too many bad first dates. He’s been online dating on and off since 2005 and watched things gradually go downhill as online dating entered the mainstream. Remy believes that lies, deception, and lack of accountability are some of the roots of the problem, and that increased transparency is part of the solution.
follow me
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