may be a con artist ….
may be a con artist if they:
• “Love bomb” you: Love bombing is a standard among sweetheart scammer tactics. It’s when a person lavishes you with excessive flattery, affection, and even material gifts early in the relationship in an effort to manipulate your emotions.
• Ask you to move to another app or website to speak privately.
• Claim to be a native English speaker, but their spelling, grammar, or accent tell you otherwise.
• Say they live in your home country but they’re traveling for work. For example, they may claim to be, for example, a military servicemember, a traveling physician, or an oil rig worker.
• Have an online profile that doesn’t match up with what they’ve told you, in terms of either photos or biographical details.
• Refuse to chat on video, claiming their phone’s camera doesn’t work or they don’t have a cell phone at all.
• Give dubious excuses for not being able to meet up in person, such as being in a car accident or a loved one’s death.
• Ask you to send them money for a family medical emergency - or store gift cards because they’ve lost their job. They might say they’re going to buy airline tickets to come visit you. Basically, dating scammers will use any “hardship” story that’s already worked to getting you to part with your cash.
• Ask to send you money so they can get their hands on your personal banking information.
What to do if you think you’re the victim of a sweetheart scam First, there’s no reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed. These criminals are clever, and any of us could fall prey to a sweetheart scam. Here’s what to do if you believe you’ve been conned:
• File a report with the online dating app or social media website where the scammer first contacted you.
• File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
• Report the fraud to the FTC.
• Notify your financial institutions that you may have been scammed.
• Change all your passwords immediately.
• Block the scammer immediately on all forms of communication: messaging apps, phone, text, and social media.
While reporting the scam can feel scary, sharing what happened to you can prevent it from happening to someone else. Remember, you are not alone. If you find yourself needing help, please contact Julie or Alyssa at 406-6536221 or stop in at 124 Custer St in Wolf Point.
