Many people wonder – is Dream Singles Real? This #1 niche dating site has been around for almost two decades. DatingNews.com states that Dream Singles “has brought thousands of men and women together for long-term relationships and now has more than 15,000 daily active members.” Unfortunately, not all online international dating sites work this way.
At present, there is much talk about dating scams online and how people all over the world are losing their money. Reporter Athar Ahmad from BBC Panorama gives us a lesson on how to catch a romance scammer red-handed.
The Victim: Roy Twiggs
Meet Roy Twiggs. This 67-year old man unintentionally gave his life savings away to online scammers. At the time, he was not aware of the signs and red flags to watch out for and quickly became prey. We share his story in hopes that you will be cautious when dating online. Trusted dating sites like Dream Singles will never allow members to ask for money. In fact, they have a very strict Anti-Scam Protection policy that protects their members from becoming prey to scammers like Roy encountered.
The Fake Profile
Because of Roy’s unfortunate experience, Athar Ahmad decided to catch a romance scammer by creating a fake profile. He wanted to take on the role of a woman (Kathryn Hunter) because about two-thirds of catfish victims reported are women. Indeed, he was a part of the 24% that pretend to be the opposite sex when creating a fake profile. However, Athar’s decision doesn’t negate the sad fact that catfishing happens to one-third of men. But before we move on with Athar’s lesson, let’s define catfishing.
What is Catfishing?
When it comes to catching a romance scammer, you need to be aware of catfishing. And no, we aren’t talking about the food. What is catfishing in dating? The term “catfishing” refers to when a person takes information from other people and uses them to create a new identity. Oftentimes, you will see pictures being used to pose as someone else online. This behavior is becoming more and more prevalent in the online dating world. As a result, you need to be even more cautious with your information and money.
More than a quarter of connections online begin through a dating app or website. That means catfish pitch their romance scripts to plenty of victims for money.
How to Catch a Romance Scammer Red-Handed
After Athar created a profile (Kathryn Hunter), the catfish were already biting. In just three days, Paul Richard (claiming to be a US soldier) tells Kathy he’s in love and wants to marry her. This is the first red flag – expedient love. If you think you can find authentic love online is just three days, you may need to shift your perspective. Remember, it takes time to get to know someone. How could another person who has never seen you claim love in just three days? What we are seeing here is a nefarious tug on emotion.
Next, Paul takes the conversation off the dating site and sends Athar cascades of text messages. This is the second red flag – conversing off the dating platform. If your interest wants to talk to you outside of the dating site you met on, don’t go for it. When you converse off the dating site, it limits the assistance the dating site can provide if something goes wrong. In most cases, dating sites will not help if you decided to take the conversation offline. Don’t put yourself in that situation.
After just one week, Paul wants to talk on the phone. Athar’s producer steps in to be Kathryn and what they hear on the other line is not what they expect – a Nigerian accent. Paul was supposed to be a US soldier, remember? This is the third red flag – conflicting information.
When Athar searches for the image Paul sent on the web, he stumbles upon some eye-opening information. Paul Richard is not a US soldier at all. He stole the picture from Juan Avalos, who is a real Marine. So who was the man pretending to be Paul Richard? None other than Daniel Joseph Okechkwu, a guy from Nigeria. They found his Twitter account and the same number that was used to call Athar is on the account. Gotcha!
Lesson on Romance Scammers
The lesson here is not to be afraid of every beautiful person you see online. Just because someone puts extra time and effort into their profile pictures doesn’t mean they are automatically a scammer. But if someone is asking you for money or about your personal information, that is when you need to put up your fraud guard. For online dating, it is never ok to give your money to someone you don’t know. The ultimate lesson is to, first and foremost, protect yourself.
