The age of the internet has made a lot of things possible, and that includes things like online dating. A fair few of us have met a significant other or even future spouse on the web, but for every genuine person looking to make a connection with someone, there are the usual half a dozen scam artists.
Scams are getting increasingly more sophisticated, and it is important to be able to try and spot the potential hacks and scams to identify who’s liable to break your heart and empty your bank account. Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
Sounds Too Good to be True
Sadly, all of the stories are pretty well documented, and they’ll start in the same way.
You will be minding your own business online, and you’ll meet somebody. You probably won’t expect it to happen because most people don’t, and that person will be charming, charismatic, and there will be an instant chemistry between you. They will say all the right things, and you’ll start to make a genuine connection. However, that’s when the suspicious things start cropping up.
They might ask you for information about your financial situation, especially if they have told you that they live far away. They might try and rush through the relationship, making big plans to buy a house together or start an amazing new life. They may ask to borrow money on occasion because they aren’t doing so well financially. They may try to take your personal information and claim they need it to submit applications for loans.
The problem is that you will do what they ask because you have an emotional relationship with them. You believe that they are who they claim to be, so you handover your personal information and then it’s used to commit fraud in your name.
Stay Safe and Hand Out a Second Number
One of the most sensible things that you can possibly do is stay safe by handing out a second phone number. If you have a second number, which we can provide for you, you can give that out instead of your personal number until you feel comfortable giving that information. A dishonest person can’t do anything with one of our numbers, it doesn’t connect to any personal information relating to you.
Final Thoughts
So, unfortunately, you do need to be safe and sensible online. It’s important that you look for new opportunities to be safe, and try to put your personal information out of harm’s way. Being safe on the web is a lot harder than you might think, but if you have one of our second numbers, then it does get a bit easier. It’s tough to accept that there are people who are prepared to use your emotions against you for the sake of committing a crime, but they will. You have to be ready for that, and you have to take appropriate steps to protect yourself.