Tuesday, October 22, 2013















It is unfortunate, but true. Romance scams are one of the most common reasons why people need to hire a private investigator in today's world.  Of course, infidelity, pre employment screenings and due diligence are also common reasons, but the fact remains, romance scams have led to a steady demand for background checks.  Single people experience pressure from their friends, from their families, co-workers, neighbors, etc to meet someone. Just about anyone you know, if you're single, is trying to help you find that special someone.  Society and human nature indicates being single is just “not right.  This feeling and pressure to meet someone often leads people to start the search online, when the real world turns up no luck.  A quick review of online dating sites shows the industry has flourished and many relationships are now started online.  With this popularity, has come a significant number of dating scams.

Many private investigation companies in the U.S. agree.  When they receive a call or email from a new client, there's a good chance the call is pertaining to a romantic relationship.  And in many of those cases, the client has been a victim of romance scam or dating scam, whether they realize it or not.  The fact is, finding your match online is no easy task, and many people are unaware of the risk involved.  if you take a look at online dating statistics, surveys conducted in the United States show 87% of people think online dating is a good way to find a partner. Social gatherings or dating someone from work is an option for many people, so with limited options, many try their luck online.

With love scams now being widely published in the media, the general public and law enforcement agencies are more aware of the risk.  So, why is it that private investigators say the number of clients from dating scams continue to rise?  The answer is simple.  William Carter, Vice President of Private Investigation for Philippine PI™, explains that criminals are learning faster than the public, and are staying one step ahead.  In other words, as soon as law enforcement and the public knows about one red flag, internet scammers will change their tactics, and use new approaches to scam victims.  Dating scams, like all other fraud, continues to evolve and the internet is a great hunting ground.  Philippines investigators know better than most, as the Philippines is a high risk country for scams.  Charles Alden, CEO of Russia PI™ agrees, and says "scammers routinely change their profile."

For many, getting online dating checks has become a routine, must have form of insurance to keep you safe in the world of online dating.  This is certainly a good first step of precaution.  However, private investigators say that even when you meet in person, a dating scam or relationship fraud is always possible, so it's important to verify your potential mate in both online and offline worlds.

A. Hathaway
© 2013 A Hathaway



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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousOctober 24, 2013 at 6:23 AM

    During the course of only 3 weeks I encountered not 1 but 2 dating scams,
    both involving foreigners. The second one was far more elaborate. Information furnished thru Adult Friend Finder, LinkedIn, and Facebook as well as my inbox
    regarding someone named Lindsay Johansson failed a simple reference check.
    It all looked so believable with all the photos and the large number of internet sources all giving the same information.
    According to the profile found on the dating service site and a large number of
    internet sites, Lindsay Johansson was stationed in Cape Coast, Ghana where she
    held 2 jobs: A morning job as a teacher at Cape Coast University and a humanitarian job managing God's Orphanage in Cape Coast.
    A completely bogus profile it turns out. The college said it had no teacher or
    professor named Lindsay Johansson. The true owner of God's Orphanage did
    not recognize the name Lindsay Johansson. His records showed that no such
    person ever worked there. I didn't go to the trouble of checking out the claims that
    Lindsay Johansson had received college degrees from a University in Australia
    but I'm sure there is more false information besides what I investigated.

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