Larryville Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) This is more of a public service announcement. Now I am a prolific profile reader, always have been. The reason why as the years have gone on I am less skeptical of OLD because we all choose who we are going to pursue, the picture, the profile or a combination of both. Some of you older OLD users already know this or have experienced this but in my latest stint at OLD I have read (at least to me) a serious increase of scam profiles. Maybe because I am older the scam profiles stick out more, but the profiles don’t always don’t have to include a really hot man or woman. These scammers are starting to use more average looking people, and the language is coming across as more genuine. Below is an example of a glaringly fake profile of a 58 year old woman, very nice looking but someone who can pass for much younger. The reason this profile stood out with me is I have seen a number of profiles with similar language. While they might change a phrase or two this same block style profile I have seen several time on POF. For some people I am the best in the world. Other thinks that I should be changed completely . I can be a friend, a listener, a good partner, a tender lady . I am a mature woman and I know what I want in life and know how to achieve that. I am a determined person. My favorite number is definitely one. I like to be at the first place and I am a one man woman! I love life and enjoy every moment of it. I keep smiling all the time and I believe that I will give my warm smile every day to my beloved. I appreciate honesty and faithfulness and I think that the bitter truth is better than sweet lies. I am really gentle, caring and passionate when I fall in love. I am a real woman with little sweet weaknesses and lacks but with a big kind heart and desire to give all of myself to my only one man.In the last month or so I have come across bunches of profiles with very similar language, I have noticed so much for the heck of it I Googled a few phrases and came across this site. Scam Digger I guess they monitor fraud profiles. I know for some of you this may not be new but proof that you always have to be on your toes to navigate the harrowing world of OLD. Edited August 11, 2017 by a LoveShack.org Moderator removed commercial url 7
Miss Spider Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 How do these scams work? Do they get you to fall for them and send them money or they ask you go to a website? I'm only familiar with the hot person web cam bot type scammer
coolheadal Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) Nigerian and Ghana from Western Africa are those behind most of this. Also local woman too in USA. Philippines and Europe also. Fake Love Fake Women Want your money not you.. They ask for rent, airline tickets, visa/passport fees, medical fees, they always hungry for food and your money. They ask you to use Hangouts, Whatapps, Facebook Yahoo, Gmail etc. itune cards are very popular Those who are larger group will go after you for big money they will lure you in Skype get a real Nigerian or Ghana woman and she's video you or talk with you. A lot of people are involved in the scheme, you sent the money via WU or MG you would be paying off the WU agent in the country get like $20 USD the rest get the jackpot. Your hard earned money. Those in the US are very cleaver too. They will also SMS you yep, but you'll never meet them in person because they will not come to you why you say? Because why should they if you going to send them hundreds even thousands of dollars they don't need to work or do anything just say they love you, they can say their in love with you, they miss you and etc.. Edited August 11, 2017 by coolheadal
Author Larryville Posted August 11, 2017 Author Posted August 11, 2017 How do these scams work? Do they get you to fall for them and send them money or they ask you go to a website? Well with these scams now, they don’t just come right out and ask you for money, they are more deliberate because they MUST win your trust because people are looking out more. And to win this trust the profiles are “deeper” more sincere. Like if you are in my age range (I’m 53) and you are indeed looking at a more stable LTR you want people who are seeming sincere. Below is another profile of a women, nice looking mid 50’s, but not someone who would stand out. But notice punctuation, capitalization riddled full of clichés, too corny. If you look for a loyal and caring person, so you are in the right place! I’m a comfort-maker and only surround myself with the same kind of people. I am an optimistic, free spirited individual, and a little bit of a health nut. That’s how I would describe myself. However, my family and friends would describe me as spunky and as they always comes first , i am energetic, outgoing and very, very sweet. I am not too sure about the spunky part, but they are the closest people I have, so they know me better, right? I can be shy at first but once you get to know me you'll see I'm just a nice person with laid back attitude who enjoys the little things in life. I’m not a couch potato, though sometimes I love to stay home. I love to laugh and smile as much as possible. However, I do know when and where to be serious and respect that trait in others as well. When I think of the right man for me I think of someone who could carry on a conversation whether the topic is silly or serious, who knows who he is, what he wants, and what things in life matter. He should be kind and caring, punctual and attentive, with excellent sense of humor, and what is the most important. He should be sincere with me as well as with himself. My love will be the hundredfold return for my beloved! I believe that real love exists and only it brings absolute happiness in life. If it sounds to you like we have enough interests in common, drop me a line and perhaps we can get together one day. Also I believe Learning new things keeps us mentally fit.I am for the most part content with myself but believe there is always room for improvement.Going for walks or just sitting at home watching movies or just the tv. I am kind hearted, faithful, honest and just need someone with the same quality I like camping. I'm honest straight forward person and I don't play head or mind games. I don't like liars,deceit,thieves or cheaters. Finding that perfect match is a pretty tall order. You realize after a certain period of time that compatible is more achievable. Putting limitations on your expectations is the fast track to nights alone. Compromise is the key to any lasting relationship.i am a fun loving person very ready for a serious relationship as well as settling with a man who can also see the future in my eyes as well as ready to settle down..In a relationship I believe that good honest communication is essential, Affection and intimacy would rate up there as well. Holding hands, cuddling, great kissing, massages or just a hug at the end of a bad day to make it seem better. I did not add any spacing this is how profile appeared. We just need be careful and be more vigilant, looking below the surface. 1
Gr8fuln2020 Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) Many of the profiles are simple cut/paste. A few words changed here or there, but easily identifiable. I also look at age ranges and compare pics to ages indicated. Frankly, I also find most of the very skeletal profiles to be suspicious too. That person is either too jaded to care or simply doesn't care about impressing other than by the attractive pictures. Does anyone think that the dating sites themselves also recruit fake profiles to entice men/women to purchase their 'upgraded' packages? I am convinced that they do. On a side note...I have another thread regarding this, but I am currently in communications with a wonderful woman who suspects that I am not the real deal. Keeps talking about California and how it's only a little over an hour flight to see her so distance shouldn't be an issue. The problem is that I live only 45 minutes from her. She thinks I'm scamming her...anyhoo, bizarre. I am not certain where in my profile it would indicate to her that I am a scammer. Must be something 'telling' she's seen before that I am clearly not aware of. ;-) Edited August 11, 2017 by simpleNfit
Miss Spider Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Wow, that's pretty deep. Seems so convincing. Sad that it must work for them to do it. I had a guy tell me about a scammer who asked him for $100 Itunes gift card within the first couple exchanges. It really makes me upset to hear people preying on people looking to find love and going to such lengths as gaining the persons trust and faking a relationship with someone for $. Thanks for spreading the word. This is a reminder to all to meet the people soon and certainly before you get invested
Author Larryville Posted August 11, 2017 Author Posted August 11, 2017 I also find most of the very skeletal profiles to be suspicious too. Absolutely, or “ask me” profiles, “will fill in later” Does anyone think that the dating sites themselves also recruit fake profiles to entice men/women to purchase their 'upgraded' packages? Oh I don’t think there is any question they do, especially Match. This is no different than in politics on social media sites. People have no clue just how many fake twitter followers, Facebook profiles generate stories (on both sides) to drum up hatred and fear for the other side. Political and psychological manipulation But it’s funny, I use to think that folks who were on dating sites who complained about punctuation and spelling were a little too picky. However now they are HUGE red flags and can easily save you time and heartache. 1
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 I look for how the sentence is structured in English. If I see sentences written like this: "hello pretty. What a wonderous beauty you are to bless the pages of this dating site. am smithjoseph (or Kelvin)by name.i saw your lovely picture and will like to talk with you more,,,i am a god fearing man who don't want to play games,,,i am closing my profile but will like to talk with you at (whatever email name.com)", I know for certain it's a scammer. Modal verbs kill them every time. Yeah, ScamDigger is really a good site. I have a Facebook friend in Moscow whose picture was stolen and used to scam me before I tracked him down and told him his pictures were stolen. He thanked me and sent me a friend request and we've been friends ever since. Yesterday, I was going through mingle2, which is infested worse than roaches with scammers, and I saw a recent picture I'd seen posted on his Facebook page being used to scam. I notified the site and I told him and sent him a screen shot of it. Anyone who contacts me in any form, through the "meet me" or sending me an email... or when I've got nothing better to do, I drag their profile and pictures through a google/google image search and usually, I find multiple listings of it on other dating sites and on ScamDigger. I cut and paste the url's and report the profile.
Gr8fuln2020 Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Well with these scams now, they don’t just come right out and ask you for money, they are more deliberate because they MUST win your trust because people are looking out more. And to win this trust the profiles are “deeper” more sincere. Like if you are in my age range (I’m 53) and you are indeed looking at a more stable LTR you want people who are seeming sincere. Below is another profile of a women, nice looking mid 50’s, but not someone who would stand out. But notice punctuation, capitalization riddled full of clichés, too corny. I did not add any spacing this is how profile appeared. We just need be careful and be more vigilant, looking below the surface. I always stay clear of profiles with broken English or grammatical inconsistencies. I suspect the person is foreign and likely cut/paste or was dictated the information. Actually, I simply stay away from any foreign profiles. Easier that way. Location Location Location.... Another thing to look for is variety. I find it much more difficult to produce creative, varied profiles that are thoughtful.
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Wow, that's pretty deep. Seems so convincing. Sad that it must work for them to do it. I had a guy tell me about a scammer who asked him for $100 Itunes gift card within the first couple exchanges. It really makes me upset to hear people preying on people looking to find love and going to such lengths as gaining the persons trust and faking a relationship with someone for $. They don't care what they are doing. They feel those in the west deserve to be robbed of their money and lied to. 3
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 and they can also fake webcam chat videos, too. They steal streams of people sitting at their computer terminals and loop them. The best way to smoke them out is to tell them not to turn around, but a huge spider is right next to their head. If they don't do 'the dance' when they read that, then you know they are scamming you. 1
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 I always stay clear of profiles with broken English or grammatical inconsistencies. I suspect the person is foreign and likely cut/paste or was dictated the information. Actually, I simply stay away from any foreign profiles. Easier that way. Location Location Location.... Another thing to look for is variety. I find it much more difficult to produce creative, varied profiles that are thoughtful. Most of them say they live in your vicinity and can get google phone numbers with your area code. The guy who scammed me had an area code for Bowie, Maryland. It's really easy for them to look up location markers on google maps---you'd have to smoke them out on something that everyone in the area knows about, but it wouldn't show up on google. 2
Author Larryville Posted August 11, 2017 Author Posted August 11, 2017 with you more,,,i am a god fearing man who don't want to play games,,,i am closing my profile but will like to talk with you at (whatever email name.com)", Yes the punctuation is key here… When it comes to POF and the “Meet Me” everybody get up in arms about it. I don’t think folks know you can turn the function off. I have never paid any attention to it. If a woman really wanted to meet me, she would send a note. My profile is pretty blunt, some of the women doing the Meet me CLEARLY did not read my profile and I won’t respond to anyone who has not read my profile. Now not sure how many know about this site: scrapersnbots.c**/webtools/plenty-of-fish-username-search.php Plenty Of Fish dating website has removed their username search for many locations across the globe. This is POF's attempt to provide further incentive to purchase their upgraded dating membership. With the POF.com Username Search form below, you can perform unlimited username searches on the Plenty Of Fish website. This POF search utility will return complete and partial matches, for example, if you enter Evan in the search box, any Plenty Of Fish members that have Evan as part of their username will appear below including evan1218, evansgirl23, EvanATX, etc. This helps with tracking scammers too. The thing is Meet Me, is chickens**t only a passive aggressive person would use or someone lacking self-esteem. Anyone who is willing to reach out directly is likely someone worth communicating with anyway. 2
Gr8fuln2020 Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Most of them say they live in your vicinity and can get google phone numbers with your area code. The guy who scammed me had an area code for Bowie, Maryland. It's really easy for them to look up location markers on google maps---you'd have to smoke them out on something that everyone in the area knows about, but it wouldn't show up on google. Oh, absolutely understand how easy it is to fake your location. That is why, after a couple days of communication, within a week, A MEET UP is requested. The scammers always become silent after that or if they disagree or give me excuses, I simply block/delete/ignore them. 3
Popsicle Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 This must be why some think my profile is fake. I am real. 2
CptInsano Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 This must be why some think my profile is fake. I am real. Then you'll have to fake it to appear more real. 1
Gr8fuln2020 Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 This must be why some think my profile is fake. I am real. Because you refuse to meet within the first week or so? My approach has worked for me. My thinking is that if you are online to date and real, why wait more than a week to meet? You've communicated by your profile and my messaging for the few days and spending more time online will get you only marginally more information anyway. The best way to get to know someone is by meeting and having face to faces. There is nothing pressing about using online as a means of communication when you can find out infinitely more in person. Also, I know that I may have lost some potential dates this way, but that's okay. Some have different comfort zones and timelines, but my doesn't involve messaging for weeks. I also figure if you cannot meet me b/c you are already booked with someone else, then your probably too busy for me.
Miss Peach Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Most of them say they live in your vicinity and can get google phone numbers with your area code. The guy who scammed me had an area code for Bowie, Maryland. It's really easy for them to look up location markers on google maps---you'd have to smoke them out on something that everyone in the area knows about, but it wouldn't show up on google. In my area, hardly anyone is originally from here and a lot of people just use their cell numbers now so it's common for everyone to have phone numbers with other area codes. Only a few people I know have them with local area codes. Doesn't really tell you anything about a scam but wanted to mention it might be legit to have another area code.
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Oh, absolutely understand how easy it is to fake your location. That is why, after a couple days of communication, within a week, A MEET UP is requested. The scammers always become silent after that or if they disagree or give me excuses, I simply block/delete/ignore them. Exactly. This is their M.O.
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 In my area, hardly anyone is originally from here and a lot of people just use their cell numbers now so it's common for everyone to have phone numbers with other area codes. Only a few people I know have them with local area codes. Doesn't really tell you anything about a scam but wanted to mention it might be legit to have another area code. True. The real proof is in the meeting them as soon as possible. That is when the jig is up. 1
kendahke Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 When it comes to POF and the “Meet Me” everybody get up in arms about it. I don’t think folks know you can turn the function off. How do you do that? Can it be done from the app?
Michelle ma Belle Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Does anyone think that the dating sites themselves also recruit fake profiles to entice men/women to purchase their 'upgraded' packages? I am convinced that they do. Absolutely! This has been well documented on various platforms and in various exposes done on OLD over the years. I've watched many documentaries on this subject. No secret here. The most recent revelation on this subject was when Ashley Madison was hacked. Expert techies had a field day. They took one look and easily found that out of the reported 35+ million members, only 5.5 million were women, and out of those 5.5 million women only 12,000 were REAL WOMEN! The rest were sophisticated fembots created for the sole purpose of weaving together the illusion that women on the site are plentiful and eager. Nothing more than a elaborate, deliberate, and lucrative fraud scheme to get male members to slap down their credit cards and join the legion of wayward men and women. 2
caveman621 Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 I haven't been doing OLD for almost three years, but saw a lot of this. Datehookup.com is especially rife with this. This happened quite a few times. A woman who lived the next town over then, after a couple of back and forth e-mails: "Oh, I live there but I'm on a long term assignment in some west African country." Yeah. Right. I don't think (I could be wrong) they can do much to you unless you are stupid (or desperate) enough to send them money or gifts or any personal information. Just annoying!
Popsicle Posted August 11, 2017 Posted August 11, 2017 Because you refuse to meet within the first week or so? Nope. I prefer to meet after a week or two (or sooner) of chatting/texting. I prefer to get it over with. I even state that in my profile. I just think people have their paranoia's. I know I have mine.
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