IS YOUR ONLINE VALENTINE SWEETHEART LEGIT OR A SWINDLER?

It’s well known that people online aren’t always as they appear. However, tens of thousands of internet users fall victim to online romance scams each year, and it can happen to anyone. These scams can be incredibly convincing and are increasingly found across dating sites and social media platforms.

People who said they were ages 40 to 69 reported losing money to romance scams at the highest rates – more than twice the rate of people in their 20s. At the same time, people 70 and over reported the highest individual median losses at $10,000 (FTC).

Bad actors are very good at appealing to victims’ emotions and feigning personal connections, to steal large sums of money and personal information. Luckily, there are ways to identify a scam and protect yourself online.

Think before posting about yourself and others online. Consider what a post reveals, who might see it and how it might affect you or others. Consider creating an alternate persona that you use for online profiles to limit how much of your personal information you share.

Be wary of communications that push you for immediate action or ask for personal information.Never share personal information through email, especially if you do not know the sender.

If you are unsure if you are being scammed, do a reverse image search of the potential scammers profile picture. You may see that image belongs to a completely different person or has been affiliated.

Scammers can be very convincing, however, there are ways to identify a scammer, including, but not limited to, the following red flags.

1. ???There’s a request for money for urgent matters, such as medical expenses or a plane ticket. Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.

a)????Common forms of money requested by scammers are wire transfers or per-loaded gift cards.

2.???The person claims to live far away, overseas or be in the military.

3.????The relationship is moving very fast.

4.???They break promises to see you in person.

5.???There’s pressure to move the conversation off the platform to a different site or text app.

1. Cease communications with the scammer immediately.

2. Take note of any identifiable information you may have on them, such as their email address.

3. Contact your bank or credit card company if you think you’ve given money to a scammer.

4. File a police report.

5. Report the scammer to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint and the FBI at ic3.gov.

6. Notify the website or app where you met the scammer.

Smart Applications International Limited is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process and providing a compliant and consistent approach to data protection laws across our African footprint.

https://smartapplicationsgroup.com/kenya/contact

References: Smart applications International Limited acknowledge that this is not original content we used reports and Insights from The National Cyber Security Alliance.

https://staysafeonline.org/