How to Avoid Mail-Order Bride Scams
An increasing number of single men are looking for a wife around the world. Although the internet significantly facilitates this process, it also creates a lot of opportunities for scammers who want to make money online.
In August, a British man was caught and imprisoned for scamming two women of over £300,000 using online dating sites. After convincing them that he was a diplomat and that a US marine general has fallen in love with them, one woman sold her jewelry, sent her live savings and her car to help this general move to the UK. Eventually, she got nothing.
Unfortunately, this is not the only case of an online scam. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, online dating scamming “industry” is worth more than $50 million turning an increasing number of men and women to victims. To avoid a lot of headache and financial losses, here are some important tips on how to avoid mail-order bride scams.
Potential Risks
- Personal safety when meeting someone after communicating online
- Stalking
- Fraud, when your match appeals to your heart to help her out of a ‘bad situation’ by sending money
- People pretending as somebody else
- Spam, selling or fraud
- Webcam blackmail, where scammers make a record of what you do in front of your webcam
- Phishing emails that try to trick you to tell personal information
- Registering on fake websites posing as authentic dating sites
- Potential online payment risks if you use insecure link
How to Protect Yourself from Mail-Order Bride Scams
Remember, that during online dating you will go through a lot of good and some unsavory people. However, it is very important to realize that all dating sites have a certain amount of scam accounts that’s why your task is to know how to identify them.
Don’t post your personal information
Don’t give a sensitive information that can lead to identity theft. Don’t share your phone number, home address, or any financial information with a person you don’t know.
Don’t send money to a woman you meet on a dating site
No matter the situation, there is a high possibility that you will never communicate again after you send her money. You can spend money on her after you get married. If you want to send her some gift, you can buy something nice and not too expensive. Don’t invest too much money in a girl you may never meet in person.
Send her a gift
Sending a real gift can be a good option as it helps not only to become closer to each other but also to know her home address, thus verify her country of residence and identity. In some cases, men pretend to be ladies on the mail-order bride websites.
Don’t buy visa and airline tickets for your lady
If she doesn’t want you to visit her in her home country and suggests paying for her visa and airplane tickets, it should raise a red flag for you. Who knows, maybe she is already married, or she is hiding some information from you. If you notice that you are dealing with a scam, you can request a refund of your cash.
Don’t sign up for other more expensive sites
There are also some situations when ladies ask you to sign up for some more expensive sites. Sometimes these sites require you to provide your credit card information or try to sell you some products.
