topic FBI Scam Warning in Among Friends

FBI Scam Warning

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:20:33 GMT

I feel like this information is very relevant today.

FBI Warns of Online Dating Scams

Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every year hoping to find a companion or even a soulmate. But as Valentine’s Day gets closer, the FBI wants to warn you that criminals use these sites, too, looking to turn the lonely and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of scams.

These criminals—who also troll social media sites and chat rooms in search of romantic victims—usually claim to be Americans traveling or working abroad. In reality, they often live overseas. While their most common targets are women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, and/or disabled, but every age group and demographic is at risk.

Here’s how the scam usually works. You’re contacted online by someone who appears interested in you. He or she may have a profile you can read or a picture that is e-mailed to you. For weeks, even months, you may chat back and forth with one another, forming a connection. You may even be sent flowers or other gifts. But ultimately, it’s going to happen—your new-found “friend” is going to ask you for money.

So you send money...but rest assured the requests won’t stop there. There will be more hardships that only you can help alleviate with your financial gifts. He may also send you checks to cash since he’s out of the country and can’t cash them himself, or he may ask you to forward him a package.

So what really happened? You were targeted by criminals, probably based on personal information you uploaded on dating or social media sites. The pictures you were sent were most likely phony lifted from other websites. The profiles were fake as well, carefully crafted to match your interests.

In addition to losing your money to someone who had no intention of ever visiting you, you may also have unknowingly taken part in a money laundering scheme by cashing phony checks and sending the money overseas and by shipping stolen merchandise (the forwarded package).

In another recently reported dating extortion scam, victims usually met someone on an online dating site and then were asked to move the conversation to a particular social networking site, where the talk often turned intimate. Victims were later sent a link to a website where those conversations were posted, along with photos, their phone numbers, and claims that they were “cheaters.” In order to have that information removed, victims were told they could make a $99 payment—but there is no indication that the other side of the bargain was upheld.

While the FBI and other federal partners work some of these cases—in particular, those with a large number of victims or large dollar losses and/or those involving organized criminal groups—many are investigated by local and state authorities.

We strongly recommend, however, that if you think you’ve been victimized by a dating scam or any other online scam, file a complaint with our Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

Before forwarding the complaints to the appropriate agencies, IC3 collates and analyzes the data—looking for common threads that could link complaints together and help identify the culprits. This helps keep everyone safe.

Here are some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of an online dating scam.

Recognizing an Online Dating Scam Artist

Your online “date” may only be interested in your money if he or she:

Presses you to leave the dating website you met through and to communicate using personal e-mail or instant messaging;
Professes instant feelings of love;
Sends you a photograph of himself or herself that looks like something from a glamour magazine;
Claims to be from the U.S. and is traveling or working overseas;
Makes plans to visit you but is then unable to do so because of a tragic event; or
Asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, hotel bills, hospitals bills for child or other relative, visas or other official documents, losses from a financial setback or crime victimization).

Do not send money through any wire transfer service to someone you met online. The chances of recovering your money are very slim.

One way to steer clear of these criminals altogether is to stick to online dating websites with nationally known reputations. Finally, the FBI advises not to send money through any wire transfer service to someone you met online. The chances of recovering your money are very slim. If you believe you are the victim of an online dating scam or any Internet facilitated crime, please file a report at www.ic3.gov.

Source: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sandiego/news/press-releases/fbi-warns-of-online-dating-scams

Re: FBI Scam Warning

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:22:54 GMT

@shiningstar, I think this is something you should consider.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Barbara-QVC — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:29:11 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it is discussing a previously deleted thread.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Nightowlz — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:29:59 GMT

There are scammers all over the place. They need to get a job & a life. I don't know how anyone could date anyone off an online dating service. At my age I could not do that. How do you know you are not meeting up with a serial killer etc?

Re: FBI Scam Warning

chickenbutt — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:33:45 GMT

Meeting people online to date/marry is the 21st century version of meeting people in bars - only worse and more scary.

I watch a lot of real crime and now there's at least one show on the ID channel specifically about this. It's really pretty interesting.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

KingstonsMom — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:34:17 GMT

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
@shiningstar, I think this is something you should consider.

@ChynnaBlue

I so agree. And hopefully any son would ask a LOT of questions before co-signing a loan!

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Nightowlz — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:41:09 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Meeting people online to date/marry is the 21st century version of meeting people in bars - only worse and more scary.

I watch a lot of real crime and now there's at least one show on the ID channel specifically about this. It's really pretty interesting.

@chickenbutt These people have to be crazy. There are just too many weirdo's running around today. You never know who you will be meeting. I don't care how safe the dating site thinks they are. I don't like bars either.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

jackthebear — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:41:40 GMT

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
@shiningstar, I think this is something you should consider.

10,000%

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Mz iMac — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:41:50 GMT

@Nightowlz"They need to get a job & a life."

Conning is their job & life. In my neck of the woods they are called grifters. Most do the long cons when it comes to the "romance" scams. After they get all they can which is always $$$$ from the male or female victims, they move cross country or state to state.

The caught grifters usually end up on Dateline. Most get away w/it because the victims are too ashamed to report it.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Nightowlz — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:48:40 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
@Nightowlz"They need to get a job & a life."

Conning is their job & life. In my neck of the woods they are called grifters. Most do the long cons when it comes to the "romance" scams. After they get all they can which is always $$$$ from the male or female victims, they move cross country or state to state.
The caught grifters usually end up on Dateline. Most get away w/it because the victims are too ashamed to report it.

@Mz iMac I don't know how people fall for these scams. I don't think it could happen to me. I'm not very trusting & leery around people I don't know. Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes. LOL!!!

Forgot to say that's not a real job or life.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:48:59 GMT

@KingstonsMom wrote:
@ChynnaBlue wrote:
@shiningstar, I think this is something you should consider.
@ChynnaBlue

I so agree. And hopefully any son would ask a LOT of questions before co-signing a loan!

Yes, and then look into getting power of attorney.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Barbara-QVC — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:53:51 GMT

This post has been removed by QVC because it is discussing a previously deleted thread.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Mz iMac — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:54:02 GMT

@Nightowlz

My parents raised us to be "street" smart, I did the same w/mine & the grands are "street" smart.

~~I was very determined not to raise any suburban prince or princess.~~

"You can't bulls*it the bulls*itter."

Re: FBI Scam Warning

dex — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 21:10:52 GMT

So nice that everyone tried to help the op.I really feel badly for her situation and wish that her son could intervene.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

Suziepeach — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 21:27:47 GMT

I thought I remembered something about this but different- it's the Western Union thread that's been resurrected..

Re: FBI Scam Warning

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 21:38:12 GMT

@dex wrote:
So nice that everyone tried to help the op.I really feel badly for her situation and wish that her son could intervene.

I do, too.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

dooBdoo — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:24:45 GMT

Thanks for this thread, @ChynnaBlue! A very, very important reminder to us all.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

YorkieonmyPillow — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 23:03:43 GMT

@Nightowlz
@chickenbutt

I met my DH on an online dating service & we've been married 13 years now. He isn't crazy, a serial killer, or insane.

He's actually the nicest, kindest person I've ever met.

I think it is safer to "meet" someone online before you meet them in person ~ if you know what you're doing.

Re: FBI Scam Warning

ChynnaBlue — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 23:26:29 GMT

@YorkieonmyPillow wrote:
@Nightowlz
@chickenbutt

I met my DH on an online dating service & we've been married 13 years now. He isn't crazy, a serial killer, or insane.

He's actually the nicest, kindest person I've ever met.

I think it is safer to "meet" someone online before you meet them in person ~ if you know what you're doing.

My aunt met her now husband on a dating site and it turned out they went to the same church and had never met. They were both in their late 50s, early 60s at the time.

I've been using the internet since 1985 - before I even knew it was called the internet. I've been making friends online that I met later in real life since I was a teenager, but I was always very, very careful.

I never met anyone I felt off about or anyone I caught in a lie (I thought you said you didn't have a dog/brother/sister and that you were in 11th grade, not out of school....). I would stop communicating with anyone who was too flirty/pushy up front, made me feel at all uncomfortable, or just tried too hard and too fast. I always met people in public spaces, usually with a group of friends. I would talk to someone for months before I would meet the person in public because that gave me plenty of time to vet them and catch out the liars. I also kept the phone number of the local FBI office penciled on my external 1200 baud modem and if anyone felt creepy, wouldn't leave me alone, and pestered me for my phone number, I gave them that number. I never heard from any of them again. It probably helped that I was obsessed with non-fiction books about serial killers and was raised by a dad who subscribed to The Skeptical Inquirer. My parents didn't raise a fool.

To this day, some of my closest friends are people I met online. A couple of years ago I was in a wedding party for someone I met in a video game and last month when I was going through a skin cancer scare, the friend who was most supportive is someone I met at a convention for the same video game. We live 30 minutes away from each other and she'd gone through the same thing a few months before.

There are some bad people out there, but don't let it keep you from finding the good ones.