| Online dating is a great way to contact and meet | | | | sitting in an internet cafe in Africa. |
| new people. Either for free or for a small fee you | | | | Secondly check for language and spelling - broken |
| can have access to thousands of singles looking | | | | English is often a good sign of a scam. |
| for love. | | | | Thirdly do they seem overly interested in you - |
| However it is an unfortunate fact that whilst the | | | | remember if it is too good to be true it usually is |
| vast majority of people using these services are | | | | Fourthly are they requesting personal details. |
| decent law abiding citizens looking for love there | | | | Often these scammers will request your e-mail |
| are those that seek to exploit the vulnerabiltiy of | | | | address for "security" reasons. |
| singles online. | | | | How do I protect myself |
| A common trick comes from African or Eastern | | | | NEVER give out personal details, even an e-mail |
| European nationals who e-mail users with tales of | | | | address unless you know the person. Nearly all |
| family deaths, large inheritences and if only they | | | | online dating sites offer a secure internal e-mail |
| could get across to the UK if you pay them | | | | system whereby you can chat to users without |
| some money they would share this money with | | | | revealing any of your personal details. |
| you. They often ask for your private e-mail | | | | If you do suspect a member is attempting to |
| address for "privacy" purposes. | | | | commit a crime then report them to the dating |
| Of course this is a scam pure and simple, yet | | | | site administrator who will take the neccessary |
| some users may be caught out and it is | | | | action against the offender. If you are sure it is a |
| important to learn to identify these scams. | | | | scam then also report the user to their ISP who |
| Tips | | | | may then disable their e-mail. |
| Firstly do not be fooled by their profile details - | | | | Remember despite this the majority of users of |
| their sign up information may say they are from | | | | online dating services are genuwine decent people. |
| the UK, United States etc.. but this does not | | | | A bit of caution however could stop you getting |
| mean they are. More often than not they are | | | | caught out. |