Help
Real people in Real time
Meet the real person behind the Profile
From the comfort and safety of your own home
Guidelines for Managing Scammers
> Any of the following behaviours should raise concerns...
> Short examples of scammer conduct
> More detailed examples of scammer conduct
What is a dating scam?
On a dating website, a scammer is someone who builds a relationship with you,
pretending to be a legitimate user of a dating website then uses fraudulent claims to
defraud you. Scammers will ask you for money, personal or financial information or
try to redirect you to websites that require payment or download malicious software
onto your computer.
Scams of this sort can be very sophisticated and scammers will go to great lengths to
build a relationship with you, spending a lot of time communicating with you and
perhaps even telling you they love you and sending you gifts.
The key rule is that you should never send money to anyone you meet online and
should reconsider your relationship with anyone who asks you for money or who you
otherwise suspect may be a scammer.
Scammers will often ask you to send money via a wire transfer service – you will
usually be unable to recover money sent this way. You should also never share
personal information, such as bank account or credit card details as you risk falling
victim to fraud and identity theft.
How can I spot a scammer?
Example of typical scammer email below:
Hello dear one,How are you doing in life, I Want to introduce my self to you before i could go further, I am a lady Rose by name From the Continent of africa presently in Senegal dakar west africa , i came accross your profile which really sound so interesting as well spoke fine of you so i decided to drop a note to let you know that i am intrested in you for serious long term relationship . Please i will like you to email me back in my email address so that i can send you my photos and tell you more about myself . This is my email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) i am waiting to get a reply from you. THANKS. Rose This is my email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Any of the following behaviours should raise concerns that the person you are interacting with is a scammer:
• they ask you to send them money or provide your personal or financial details
• they ask you to transfer money via a wire transfer service
• they quickly profess strong feelings or love for you
• they are vague about their interests, or what they want in a partner
• they do not answer your questions or their responses are formulaic, nonsensical or repetitive
• they claim to be stationed in or travel frequently to Africa or elsewhere overseas
• they claim to be of mixed African and US, Australian, European or Canadian
descent and travel to meet relatives in Africa
• their profile, or their communications with you display poor spelling or grammar
You should carefully consider your relationship with anyone who asks you to move
communications with them away from the Partner4Real website onto email, instant
messaging, the phone, voice over IP or some other medium after only a few contacts.
Scammers will often ask you to do this so that you will be communicating only with
them, are more likely to reveal personal information and will not receive safety
warnings.
Key Messages
| >>> | Never send money to anyone you meet online |
| >>> |
Met someone recently and they’ve already professed their love? - Be careful, it could be a scam
|
| >>> |
If someone you met online says they need your help or your money it’s probably a scam
|
| >>> | If someone asks you for money, don’t reply |
| >>> | Don’t share your banking or credit card details with anyone you meet online |
| >>> | If someone asks you to transfer money to them via a wire service, don’t do it |
| >>> | If someone asks to move your communications outside Partner4Real after only a few contacts, be careful - scammers often ask for this |
| >>> | Anyone can fall for a scam – be careful and report any suspicious conduct 'Here' |
| >>> | Met someone who sounds too good to be true? Be careful – it could be a scam |
| >>> | If what you are seeing and hearing from someone does not match their profile, be careful – it could be a scam |
| >>> | If someone offers to send you money orders to cash on their behalf, don’t do it – you may be defrauded |
Short examples of scammer conduct
“Did you know that scammers will often tell you they need money for medical
treatment for a sick relative or child?”
“Scammers sometimes take a long time to build a relationship with you – never send
money to anyone you meet online, no matter how long you have been chatting with
them”
“A common tactic for scammers is to ask for money for flights, visas or other
expenses and promise that they will come and visit you – don’t be fooled”
“Some scammers will tell you that they are in the military and need money for a leave
pass so they can visit you”
“Sometimes a scammer’s description will not match their profile picture – be cautious
and look carefully”
“Scammers may claim to be recently widowed to gain your trust, sympathy and
money!”
“If anyone asks you for personal details such as banking details or credit card
numbers, don’t send them”
More detailed examples of scammer conduct
“You should exercise caution wherever someone you meet online claims that they
have been stationed in Africa as an oil worker, aid worker or other job. Scammers will
often use this excuse and ask you to send money because of some crisis, like being
robbed or becoming sick.”
“Needing money for a plane ticket or travel expenses to visit you is a common story
used by scammers. They might ask you for money for a ticket or for visa or
immigration fees. They may instead send you a ‘genuine’ copy of their visa or plane
ticket but then tell you they need money for an unexpected expense. Don’t be fooled -
scammers often have access to high quality fake documents.”
“Scammers don’t just ask you for money. They may also ask you to provide personal
details, such as you name and address, bank account or credit card numbers and use
this information to steal your identity.”
“Scammers might ask you to transfer money for them through your account, telling
you it is because they are unable to transfer the money themselves. You should never
give out personal financial information to anyone you meet online because of the risk
of identity theft. In addition, transferring money may involve you in money
laundering, a serious crime and expose you to fraud.”
“If you are asked to cash money orders for someone you meet online, you should not
do it. Scammers often promise to send their victim money orders and ask the victim to
cash the orders and wire the money back. However, the money orders are fake, so
after sending money to the scammer, the victim finds themselves pursued by the bank
for the value.”
“Been offered a big payout by someone you met online? Scammers will use all kinds
of stories to get you to send money to them. They might tell you that the money will
go to a charity, or be invested in a business like oil exploration or gold mining.
Alternatively, they may promise that paying money will allow you to access a lottery
prize, a long lost inheritance or treasure, like a cache of gemstones. What are the
chances that you will find both true love and millions of dollars online? Don’t respond
to these offers.”
“A recent popular story for scammers is to claim to be a soldier, stationed overseas
and to say they need you to send money for their expenses – often so they can
purchase a leave pass to visit you. Don’t be fooled – you should never send money to
anyone you meet online”
“When a scammer asks you to send money, they will usually come up with a whole
series of excuses for why they need more. For example, a scammer who asks you for
money for plane tickets may then tell you they need more money for customs fees and
an exit visa and then tell you they have been arrested at the airport and need even
more money to recover their possessions. You should never send money to anyone
you meet online”.
“Be careful of sharing your personal information, such as your full name, address,
birth date, family details or intimate photographs and videos with people you meet
online. These may be used by scammers for the purposes of identity theft or
blackmail”
Advice to scam victims
1: Cease communication
If you think you have been scammed, the first step is to immediately cease
communication with the scammer, to avoid losing more money or giving away more
personal information.
2: Contact Partner4Real
You should report the scammer to Partner4Real immediately,
as they may be targeting other users. Details of your report will be kept confidential.
You should provide Partner4Real with as much information about the
scammer as possible. This may include examples of emails or instant messaging
communications received from the scammer and photos, names and addresses, email
addresses or phone numbers used by the scammer.
3: Contact your financial institution
If you have sent money to the scammer and particularly if you have provided any
personal or financial details, you should contact your financial institution and inform
them. If you have given the scammer information such as account numbers, credit
card numbers or passwords you should immediately change them. If you used a
service, such as a money transfer service to send money to the scammer you should
contact the service provider.
4: Report the scam to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Reporting a scam to the ACCC assists with monitoring scam trends. You can report a
scam to the ACCC via the online reporting form on the ACCC’s SCAMwatch website
www.scamwatch.gov.au. The details of complaints made to the ACCC will be kept
confidential.
5: Contact police
If you have sent money to the scammer, you should contact your state or territory
police and report your loss.
