How To Avoid Online Dating Scams

Scammers use a phony picture of a good looking man or woman. Then they flatter and fawn. Once you're hooked, they hit you with some variation of several war torn stories. Sometimes  they say they live abroad and desperately want to visit you but their banking system is broken. Or they're at the airport and their credit card has been declined. But all their stories all end up the same: "please wire cash and I'll  pay you back." These scammers usually reside in West Africa or one of the former Soviet republics. So to protect yourself, use search engines like Facebook  or Google.  There you can search for any sob story to see if it is common. Next, stick to PAID online dating services. Paid sites have a paper trail of their members from credit card information. Then ask for info before you share your e-mail address or phone number. Make sure his or her info on Facebook matches up with what they are telling you. Then for added insurance,  run a background check on sites like http://www.beenverified.com/