Moreover, they will ensure they will talk about stories which match with their bio descriptions. They create social media platforms that have multiple and consistent photos of one person. Often, they pose it in a way to make you think that by sending them money you will prove your feelings for them.Īlthough you do not know them, you end up giving them the benefit of the doubt and agree to send them money via gift cards, bank account transfers, or even buy them something with your credit card.Īn experienced fraudster speaks naturally and is very calculating to gradually gain your trust. The scammer will tell you that they are in urgent need of your help. This is the biggest red flag there is! It is easy to have feelings for the person as they will sound like they have everything you need in a partner. Asking for MoneyĪs soon as you like their personality and want to meet them, they take it as a cue to ask you for money. They will send photos and videos of themselves making you believe that you can trust them. They will be consistent in the story they present of themselves, and some will sound genuine. They might give you an incentive you cannot refuse, and if you are in search of a partner, you might even be desperate to do so which is what they’re counting on. If the con is quite witty and cunning, they will convince you to switch over to Hangouts. Google Hangouts is relatively unpopular, and for someone to get you from the most influential platforms into that, it’s certainly suspicious. Soon afterward, they invite you to keep communications on Google Hangouts by asking for your Gmail address. Even so, some of these scammers are men posing as women.Īs men seek love on social media sites, such as Twitter, they may receive a message from a woman who is ready to get into a relationship with them. This trend is particularly common with women, as they engage unsuspecting men. You can be on Twitter, Facebook, you name it, but you meet someone new and start chatting and private messaging. One of the most common patterns involves people telling you to change from using your favorite social media platform and diverting your communications to Google Hangouts. Other times, you won’t find any reason to fall for their scams because you have nothing to gain.

Red flags pop up all the time as you deal with them, and you should learn to spot them. Nowadays, you will encounter some scammers that you can identify quickly, even without having much experience. These two reasons are enough to motivate frauds. Similarly, many people hope to find love and friendship online. As millions of people are trying to make extra cash to support their lifestyles in the current economy, some fall for get-rich-quick schemes that involve laundering money from unsuspecting victims.

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