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Tom Muleya Fraud Insight
The internet has become a common tool used to seek romantic and intimate partners and friends.
As more people turn to the internet to find love and partners, a number, mostly women are falling victim to online dating scams and are being duped of their money.
With more ladies turning to internet in search of love, “advertising themselves” the cases of online dating fraud are expected to rise.
Information technology is very good, convenient, and fast and makes communication so fascinating, but is equally risky as it is subject to manipulation by cyber criminals.
Researches show that information technology has been used to assist with finding and matching new partners since the 1960s.
Online dating gives participants the opportunity to date as many partners as possible within a short space of time.
Normally, online dating starts their communication through an email, WhatsApp or Facebook message, moves to a phone call, and then to meeting physically.
While online dating is gaining much ground and becoming popular locally and globally, CID commercial crimes division is concerned with frauds involving people falling victim to online dating scammers.
In these scams, victims who are particularly women, get into relationships with a stranger.
The male partner then asks them to send money usually in foreign currency, so that they are able to send them the big present they have bought them.
With the Valentine’s Day by the corner, victims are bound to increase.
To avoid or prevent online dating fraud, consider the following measures;
- Understand the merits and demerits of online dating. Those making use of the internet to find love and partners must ensure that they understand the pros and cons of online dating. Online dating like any other area or field is associated with some risks and dangers, and one of the dangers is online dating fraud/scams.
- Exercise great caution when you date someone online. Many scammers are creating fake personal profiles to disguise their identity so that they perform financial extortion. Scammers are individuals and organised groups using romance strategies to lure their victims via online dating sites. Almost everyone using an online dating site, social and electronic media platforms to look for a partner is at risk of being scammed.
- Never advance any cash to a newly-found partner from online dating. Online dating scammers ask for money from their female partners so that they send them a big present they have bought for them. They claim that they have insufficient funds to send the romantic present. This is an old advance fee fraud scam that is now targeted to online dating participants.
- Practise principles of cyber security. When you go online, do cyber etiquette. Cyber security is the responsibility of everyone who goes online.
- Never be too desperate for love to send your online dating partner money. If he really loves you, it is him who should send you money and not vice versa.
Participate in the fight against fraud and cybercrimes. Think cyber security. Watch out for the next issue on online dating fraud and sextortion.
Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the CID Commercial Crimes Division. He is also a member of the National Cyber Security Awareness Taskforce, Zimbabwe.
Feedback: WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail:[email protected].
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