Does a dating profile seem too good to be true? There is a good chance that such a profile is really not true, scientists warn. They have delved into the phenomenon of dating scammers and state that you can recognize a criminal by a number of things.
One of those researchers is Lynsay A. Shepherd, a cybersecurity lecturer at Abertay University. Together with colleagues Alexander Bilz and Professor Graham Johnson, she delved into hundreds of reports of so-called cybercrime incidents. In a report recently published by Tech Xplore, the experts state that criminals have certain methods to lure another into a trap.
First of all, criminals pretend to be hopeless romantics on such an app. In addition, they are extremely curious and complimentary very quickly. In many cases they also come up with pet names quite quickly with which they emotionally manipulate their victims, as it were.
Characteristics
Shepherd and her team also discovered that scammers fabricate typical profile features. They are supposedly often very religious or have experienced a lot of grief in the past, such as the death of a great love.
It is often well-educated women between the ages of 34 and 54 who fall for it, say the researchers. People who are not good with computers or apps and people who are looking for love abroad are also more likely to be scammed.
Method
By pretending to be particularly charming via the dating app, they make criminals fall in love and almost become addicted to their attention. Once a virtual relationship is established, the criminals ask their victims for money.
Shepherd believes it is important that dating apps and the police work closely together to detect and prevent dating scams. She also calls for more research. “Scammers are constantly coming up with new ways to make victims. It is therefore important to map out how they work.”