How to Spot and Avoid Online Hookup Dating Scams

Scammers consider dating sites and applications as the perfect playground to defraud users. They understand that the users visit dating sites because they desire a partner. They use this information and misuse it to their advantage. Many times, people have become victims of these dating frauds and end up transferring thousands of dollars to them. Before you put your trust and money in any dating website, you should always be wary of the following red flags.

Requires Excessive Information to Sign Up

Even though all dating applications require you to add some personal information for the signup process, you should be careful of certain information. This information should only be limited to your personality, interests, likes, and dislikes. Dating apps use this type of information to create a profile and pair your likes and dislikes to others.

Whenever the information requirement goes beyond minor personal details, then you should be careful of it. Be wary whenever a dating site or application starts asking you to fill in your financial information and anything that can potentially hurt your identity or make you vulnerable to a loss. A legitimate dating website does not ask you about your mother’s name, bank’s name, or anything that has nothing to do with dating or hookups. Avoid any types of unnecessary information and pick out options that are renowned and tested.

Shady Dating Spots

While it is common practice to meet strangers for dates, you have to take some precautions when going on first dates. If you want to meet someone for the first time, make sure the location is appropriate and does not have eerie signs about it.

Ideally, you want the first date with a stranger to be in a public place, with many people around. Therefore, if the person on the dating site is being pushy about meeting at a secluded area or even their home, then you should take this as a warning sign. An individual should always respect your concern for your safety.

In the worst-case scenario, the dating site tries to reel you towards a place where you are vulnerable to robbery and, even worse, assault. There are many incidents where people fall into the traps set by dating scammers and end up in dire circumstances.

Too Good to be True

If the dating app or website only has users that look like models and celebrities, then you should rightfully be suspicious of it. Even though there is a likely chance that you come across an actual model, the chances of the profile being fake are higher. These fake profiles are usually just online bots that are functioning on automated messages to extract your vital information.

Furthermore, when scammers create individual profiles, they make them in a way that attracts most of the users. Therefore, if a dating application only consists of astoundingly attractive users and you hardly find anyone that looks like the average person, and then you are in for a scam. The real world is not full of models and celebrities. Moreover, not everyone has professional photos of them with the perfect retouching and balancing.

It is also very uncommon and unlikely to find someone who agrees to commit to you too soon. Hence, you should also watch out for this scam as well. There is no way someone you just met agrees to commit to you for a lifetime. Scammers use these profiles to play with vulnerable people’s feelings.

Conclusion

Now that you know the certain red flags of dating websites and applications, you should be able to identify a scam when you see one.