Today's Security tip involves those of you who are on the various dating apps. It's an area we written about before, but we're revisiting it because there are so many victims of dating app scams that we want to make sure you don't have to contact one of our Colorado Springs private investigators after you've lost money. Statistics show that hundreds of people have recently lost $32 million in romance scams with 200 of those living in Colorado and Wyoming. The people most victimized are women over 40, the elderly, widowed, divorced or disabled people due to perceived, and real, vulnerabilities.
Some of the things you should look out for when getting involved with anyone you meet on a dating app:
1. The individual presses you to leave the dating app and turn solely to message or email and somewhat soon.
2. The individual uses a photo that appears to be a glamour shot or looks like it has been professionally done. We've seen scammers download photos of unknown professionals, usually men, that have been professionally done. At EXCALIBUR Legal Support - Private Investigation we use proprietary software to scan the internet and dark web to find if a photo has ever been used before. In one case we were able to show our client that the photos of a guy claiming to live in northern California and working on an oil rig, were actually photos of the CEO of Coca-Cola Europe.
3. The individual professes love quickly, much more quickly than if you met in person somewhere.
4. The individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family. These scammers don't want any other party to be able to point out inconsistencies in their stories.
5. The individual claims to live or work far away. We've seen numerous scammers claim to be working on oil rigs or in the Middle East in the oil or gold business. Not sure why these two professions are chosen by scammers, but they are.
6. The individual makes plans to meet in person, but always cancels because of some emergency. Along with this, the scammer will always have an excuse why they can't get on a Skype or other video call. If you want to test early on if a person is who they claim they are, demand they get on a video call. A scammer will never agree to that. Or if they provide an excuse why they can't get on a video call, their computer doesn't have a camera, etc., etc., then have them take a photo of themselves holding a sign with your name and current date handwritten on it. A scammer will also never agree to this as you'd then see the photos on their profile are fake.
7. The individual asks you for money. That's all of these scammer's ultimate goal. To separate you from your money. Sometimes they will wait 6 to 8 months before asking to "borrow" money or they will claim their account is frozen and they can't pay for the ticket to come and see you in person. Believe me, we've heard it all.
Think you're talking with someone legitimate on ____________ fill-in-the-blank dating app, but your spidey senses are tingling? Contact us and let us vet the person you're in contact with. You've got nothing to lose and will gain peace of mind knowing if they are who they say they are.
Lee Walters
President
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond
Some of the things you should look out for when getting involved with anyone you meet on a dating app:
1. The individual presses you to leave the dating app and turn solely to message or email and somewhat soon.
2. The individual uses a photo that appears to be a glamour shot or looks like it has been professionally done. We've seen scammers download photos of unknown professionals, usually men, that have been professionally done. At EXCALIBUR Legal Support - Private Investigation we use proprietary software to scan the internet and dark web to find if a photo has ever been used before. In one case we were able to show our client that the photos of a guy claiming to live in northern California and working on an oil rig, were actually photos of the CEO of Coca-Cola Europe.
3. The individual professes love quickly, much more quickly than if you met in person somewhere.
4. The individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family. These scammers don't want any other party to be able to point out inconsistencies in their stories.
5. The individual claims to live or work far away. We've seen numerous scammers claim to be working on oil rigs or in the Middle East in the oil or gold business. Not sure why these two professions are chosen by scammers, but they are.
6. The individual makes plans to meet in person, but always cancels because of some emergency. Along with this, the scammer will always have an excuse why they can't get on a Skype or other video call. If you want to test early on if a person is who they claim they are, demand they get on a video call. A scammer will never agree to that. Or if they provide an excuse why they can't get on a video call, their computer doesn't have a camera, etc., etc., then have them take a photo of themselves holding a sign with your name and current date handwritten on it. A scammer will also never agree to this as you'd then see the photos on their profile are fake.
7. The individual asks you for money. That's all of these scammer's ultimate goal. To separate you from your money. Sometimes they will wait 6 to 8 months before asking to "borrow" money or they will claim their account is frozen and they can't pay for the ticket to come and see you in person. Believe me, we've heard it all.
Think you're talking with someone legitimate on ____________ fill-in-the-blank dating app, but your spidey senses are tingling? Contact us and let us vet the person you're in contact with. You've got nothing to lose and will gain peace of mind knowing if they are who they say they are.
Lee Walters
President
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond
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