11 Ways to Outsmart a Romance Scammer

Afraid of a romance scam and meeting a romance scammer online? Don’t want to risk putting your heart on your sleeve? Want to be sure about the steps you are taking when it comes to love and romance? Well, if you answered Yes to any of those questions, you have come to the right place. Love reveals itself in many ways to us. But nowadays, it is generally as simple as pressing a key or swiping a touchscreen. A romance scammer is always looking for easy targets. While it is not rare to discover love online these days, it also comes with the risk that the individual on the opposite side is playing with your feelings and is only after your money. But, how? Well, this article contains 11 brilliant ways to help you outsmart a romance scammer like a master. Continue reading to find out!

Romance Scamming: What Is It?

Let us first have a brief introduction to romance scamming. A Virtual Dating Fraud or a Romance Scam is basically when an individual gets fooled into feeling they are in a love connection with somebody they found online. In simple terms, their ‘lover’ is a fraudster who uses a false identity to win enough confidence from their target to demand money or threaten them. Online scams are a dime a dozen these days and it is important to be careful with everything you do online

The attempts frequently begin on dating websites or applications. However, they also have started to surge over social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and others. Around 24,000 people reported romance scams in 2020. Unfortunately, the cases are increasing day by day but, do not worry. We have got your back!

How Does Romance Scamming Work?

If you are unaware of the strategies a romance scammer uses, then you are living under a rock. Knowing their master plans is essential nowadays otherwise, you’ll probably get scammed. So, let us have a look at how romance scamming works:

1.            The Scammer Creates A Fake ID

First, the scammer creates a fake ID on a dating app. If his profile is on a dating app, he will try to match you. But, if it’s on Instagram or Facebook, he will try following you or messaging you.

2.            The Scammer Tries Hard To Gain Trust

It is where most people get emotionally trapped. As soon as you both start chatting, the romance scammer tries to make you fall in love with him. He will try to act like you both have similar interests. Such scammers will keep telling you that they have never met someone like you before and that they are in love with you.

3.            The Scammer Gets What It Wants And Disappears

As soon as he gains your trust, he will either ask for your money or maybe your bank account details. If you give the scanner what he wants, he will disappear the very next day. And, you will get scammed.

So, you see how these romance scammers play with other peoples’ feelings just for their benefit. Now, few individuals might not agree because to them: Not everyone you meet online is a romance scammer. So, the real question is: How can you tell 100% that the person on the opposite side is a romance scammer or a person who is genuinely interested in you? Well, the answer to this question is in the next section!

Everything You Need To Know About: How To Identify A Romance Scammer?

To learn how to outwit a love scammer, you must first understand how they act. Their technique is nearly always similar. They scour the internet for ideal victims who are single, emotionally weak, and financially successful. Their target audience is divorced people, widows, and bachelors in their fifties or older. To protect yourself from this kind of danger, keep a keen watch for the indications of a romance fraudster:

•             Their Profile Looks Unreal

The first indication of a romance scammer is their profile. A genuine dating account will likely include many images of the individual in various settings, including those that reveal the entire body rather than just a portion of his face. On the other hand, a dating account may be fraudulent if the user does not provide any information. The resemblance is almost too perfect to be true. So, it is the first red flag to a romance scammer.

•             They Are Charming

The following indication is that the account of a romance fraudster will usually feature impossibly appealing images on a dating site. Once they contact you, you will be surprised that such a beautiful – and presumably wealthy – individual is attracted to you. In other words, they appear to be much beyond your pay grade and nearly too perfect to be genuine.

•             They Will Always Come Up With An Excuse To Avoid Meeting You

The most common red flag of romance scammers is that they always avoid meeting up in person. They will plan everything to gain trust. However, when the time to meet will come, they will always come up with an excuse. It is because they are not who they pretend to be.

•             They Immediately Develop Feelings For You

Have you previously been in a relationship with someone you have never met before? Of course not! A sensible person will never fall in love with you if they have not met you. But, love is different for a romance scammer, and it will be your primary indicator for spotting a romance fraudster. Within a few days of communication, they will undoubtedly declare their eternal affection for you. Then, they will go out of your way to let you feel it. If you have been feeling a connection too quickly, take a step back and think about it.

The indications discussed above are just a few to identify a romance scammer. But, they are obvious red flags that you can indicate easily. And after you recognize the scammer, it would be the right time to outsmart him. Continue reading the upcoming section to learn about it!

11 Superb Ways To Outsmart a Romance Scammer

If you suspect you are getting fooled on a dating platform, you will have to find out how to break out of there. For instance, you explicitly expose the person of being a romance fraudster, he would most likely either try to influence you or switch to a different target. We want you to be safe so, here are 11 superb ways to outwit a romance scammer. So, let us begin:

Hiding while online dating is far too easy.  You need to be aware that you may not be talking to who you think your talking too on a dating site.
Hiding while online dating is far too easy. You need to be aware that you may not be talking to who you think your talking too on a dating site.

1.            Ask For A Current Photo

If you feel that the individual is impersonating someone else, you may request them to show you their current photo. They might send you some general pictures like the pictures on their account. However, if you ask for something more particular, you might confirm that they are trying to trick you. For this, you may ask for a photo with their:

  • tongue out
  • hands up
  • hair soaking wet

An easier way is the famous application: Snap chat. You may ask your online date to send their photo on the Snap chat right away. That way, they cannot pick a random picture from Instagram. If they fail to do so, it means they are genuinely not who they claim to be. So, you will have your answer.

2.            Check For Any Messaging Irregularities

The second way to outsmart a romance scammer is to check for anomalies in their conversation to spot a love fraudster. If this individual is a gang member, several people might contact you through the profile. There may be variances in writing, typos, sentence structure, acronyms, punctuation, etc. If you identify such irregularities, you know that the person is a scammer. And you can immediately block them or stop chatting with them.

3.            Take Your Relationship Slow

Another superb way is to take your online relationship slowly. A love fraudster will invariably move at a breakneck pace. They will move from bonding to expressing their affection for you in a shorter time. It is because scammers only want to take your cash. After that, they will go onto their new victim. While seeing somebody online, always focus on keeping things slow. It is the most effective approach to outwit a love con artist and avoid getting into a fraudulent relationship.

4.            Do Not Share Your Personal Information

Another one is to never share your personal information or banking passcodes with them regardless of how deeply they claim to love you or how urgent the situation seems to be.

A genuine person will never ask you for your details in the first place. It should be sufficient enough to trigger a red signal in your view. Refuse immediately, and the scammer will leave you because he failed to achieve his goal (money).

5.            Ask The Same Questions Again

Skilled romance fraudsters frequently have multiple targets at the same time. It makes it difficult for any but the most committed liars to stay on top of their statements. Take notes, go over the information again, and ask your lover the same questions over and over again. It will ultimately reveal flaws in a made-up statement and Boom! You outsmarted a romance scammer with a taste of his own medicine.

6.            Use A History Check Service

Another way is that you can verify the trustworthiness of a user by using an internet background investigation service like TruthFinder without the need to ask them. These websites only require general info. You will likely discover that they are not who you think they are or some gloomy information about them if they are a romance scammer. This way, you can outsmart a romance scammer before he scams you.

7.            Ask To Meet In Person

If you have not encountered somebody, in reality, you would never be confident about them. Thus, if you are cautious about somebody you communicate with electronically, offer to see each other in a public location. If the other person continues making excuses each time you try to meet, despite how genuine their replies appear to be, they are probably just attempting to scam you for money.

8.            Take A Second Opinion

If you figure out red flags but are unsure what to do with an online relationship, the best thing would be to take a second opinion from someone close to you. Discuss every information with the individual you seek assistance from, and pay attention to their recommendations. Think thoroughly, and outsmart the romance scammer if the opinion of your close friend is negative.

9.            Attempt A Google Image Search

Another easy way to outsmart a romance scammer is to do a Google image search. Your relationship is likely to grab your attention with a photo of a beautiful and reliable individual. A fast Internet reverse image lookup will reveal if they are real or not. If the picture is not genuine, you have your answer.

10.         Refuse If They Ask For Money

If the individual you communicate with is a love fraudster, they will most certainly seek your assistance. A health issue or a lost payment card – their cases appear real enough to persuade you to support this individual with whom you have begun to get emotionally attached. Romance scammers try their best to make their victims emotionally attached to them before taking their final step. That is, they are only talking to you for your cash. And you know what to do: A Big No! And block them.

11.         Stop Interacting With Them

If everything fails, the best solution is to discontinue talking with the scammer. If you cannot prove they are lying to you, yet something does not feel right, it is alright to stop communicating with them. Block and report them so that they cannot contact you anymore.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed romance scamming and how it works. Then, we offered 11 super easy ways to outsmart a romance scammer in detail. We hope that it helped you, and you will remember these ways to avoid getting trapped in any romance scamming online. We wish you the best of luck in finding the right partner for you!

Furthermore, if you want to check who your talking to doesn’t have hidden dating profiles where they are trying to scam other users, we have a great free reverse username search tool for you.

If this article was helpful, you may want to check out our other related articles: