Online Dating Scams

Filed in archive Online Profiles on March 24, 2008

What is it about Nigera and internet scams? I repeatedly get emails in my inbox about bogus lottery money or business opportunities, but I hadn't realized the scam had spilled over in the world of online dating.

It seems that for every success story with Internet dating, there is another story that talks about safety. I still maintain that Internet is safe, but with any method of meeting new people you need to be careful.

I caught this story recently about a woman who "met" a guy on Match.com and proceeded to exchange emails. From the start, his emails were too "familiar." He told her how much he loved her even though they hadn't even met yet. He also started asking her for money. BIG RED FLAG.

While the women didn't fall for the scam, I have to wonder why she kept emailing him. This was obviously either a scam or someone completely unbalanced, so why set yourself up in the position to explain to someone you don't even know why you can't give him money?

When he told her he loved her, she should have deleted his email and moved on. However, she responded back by telling him that she needed to take things slow. Why waste the effort?

Have you received emails like this? If so, what did you do to make them stop?