Top Types of Fraud The top five types of fraud that occur on online dating sites, in order of most to least perpetrated, are: 1.Scams/solicitations — User takes advantage of the community to promote nonexistent services and products, or to solicit services from legitimate members 2.Spam — Person is caught sending unsolicited bulk messages via emails, postings, and instant messages to promote other products, websites or companies 3.Credit card fraud — Cybercriminal uses a fake or stolen credit card to create multiple or image source premium accounts to scam users 4.Profile misrepresentation — Fraudster posts inaccurate identity information in a profile this link and/or uses bogus profile photos 5.Identity mining — Scammer makes any attempt to illegitimately acquire personal information from other users through means of phishing, keystroke logging, creating fake business websites and other methods “Scammers used to build relationships only to later repeatedly solicit funds, but now they are causing even more harm,” said O’Hearn. “Acts of blackmail are rapidly increasing. Fraudsters build trust until they convince individuals to send compromising photos or video, and then blackmail their victim with threats to send the media to friends and family if they don’t send money. It’s very important that online daters understand the typical scenarios that put them at risk and watch safety videos provided by the dating sites.” Where Fraudsters Live The highest percentage of fraudulent transactions on online dating sites in 2014 originated from these countries: 1.Nigeria — 29 percent 3.Ivory Coast — 15 percent 4.Vietnam — 10 percent 5.Argentina — 8 percent When Fraud Occurs According to iovation, the highest percentage of fraud attempts on online dating sites in 2014 occurred between 9am to 12pm UTC. This is 1am to 4am PST and 4am to 7am EST. What Consumers Should Look For There are many telltale signs that someone’s looking to defraud you on an online dating site.
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