The term scamming is unfortunately becoming more and more common, but many do not even know what it means exactly. Romance scamming in particular has become very common. In this practical tip, we will tell you about it and show you how you can protect yourself.
Scamming: Definition
Scamming loosely translates to “cheating” and is fabricated by numerous internet crooks. Scammers have the primary goal of relieving you of your money.
- There are many different forms of scamming. One of the most common forms is “romance scamming”.
- This is a scam used on dating portals, forums and other chat portals. The victim is made to believe over a long period of time that the scammer considers them to be the most beautiful creature on earth.
- However, this is only nice up until the point when the scammer wants money from you. Over this period of time, an emotional dependency has often already developed and victims feel obligated to transfer money to the scammer.
- Most of the time, the scammers are abroad and want money for an airline ticket, an operation for their own child or for other contrived endeavours.
- The money is transferred and the victim is promised that they will get the money back in the near future – but this is not the case. As soon as the scammer has the money, he and the money are gone or even demands another sum at a later date.
Scamming: How you can protect yourself
Don’t be too reckless. Even if the temptation is great and your dream man or woman is already waiting two mouse clicks away, the danger is great that you will become the victim of a scammer.
- Let yourself confirm the identity of people with whom you only communicate on the net and do not act rashly. The old principle applies here: trust is good, control is better.
- Never pay a sum of money to strangers, especially not to people you have recently met on the internet.
- Keep all mails, messages and letters that you have received from the stranger. In case of fraud, present these to the police.
Romance Scamming: What to look out for
Romance scamming is a common type of scam that you can fall victim to if you are looking for a partner on the internet.
- In 2014 alone, there were about 8,000 victims who fell for the scam of love scammers.
- The scammers are most often in it for the money: they make their victims feel safe by confessing their love and then use this to demand larger sums of money from the victim.
- The love scammers usually pose as educated men with well-paid professions so as not to appear to be targeting their victim’s money in the first place.
- They usually invest a lot of time in establishing a basis of trust between them and the victim and after a certain time claim, for example, to have a problem which can only be solved by the victim “lending” them money.
- Prevent this by using reputable dating sites. But even if you find a person on such a platform who quickly confesses their love for you and at some point demands money from you, you should be alert.
Scamming in the housing market
Whoever is looking for a new place to live in the private housing market will have come across a scammer or two.
- The scammers usually offer large, newly renovated flats at ridiculous prices to lure potential victims who may be in need.
- Most of the time, these scammers will forgo viewing appointments and, without asking for important documents, send you a fake lease after only a short exchange.
- In addition, they often ask for the deposit in advance and want to send you the house key by post because they are currently “abroad”.
- Never enter into such ominous offers and never pay in advance for a home you have never seen. These scammers often cannot be traced back to the police and victims end up with an empty wallet and a non-existent flat.
Scamming with false promises of money
Those in financial distress may resort to dubious methods to obtain money out of desperation.
- One of the oldest scamming tricks is the Nigeria Connection, which lures its victims with emails or even letter post stating that large amounts of money might be available to you. Usually these are inheritances or other family legacies.
- For processing, the scammers demand large sums of money to cover, for example, notary fees or other.
- Never reply to such messages and under no circumstances pass on your details.
