Safe Online Dating: Best Questions To Ask A Romance Scammer
Are you looking for a date online? Or already dating someone and not sure if the person is genuine? Don't worry; we are here to help you with a set of questions to ask a romance scammer. We all dream of a perfect date, be it online or in-person, and with someone you can invest your time, money, and energy. But, as much as technology has broken barriers, it has created new ones in the form of technical frauds and scams.
We have heard many instances of people being scammed on dating platforms. These scammers are hard to catch, and often the victim who is in search of a genuine relationship is left helpless. A misconception about dating applications is due to the increase of scammers; it is hard to find an actual person who might be looking for a partner, date, love, and companion, just like you.
Hence, learn to ask practical questions when dating online and authenticate another person's identity to protect yourself from online dating scams.
Romance and a Scam
In this fast-paced world, sometimes we feel lonely or anxious and find it hard to experience euphoric romantic love. Online dating apps are trying to bridge that gap and connect two people searching for a companion, but along they bring online dating scams.
Research shows that romance scammers always target vulnerable people and lay an emotional trap to scam the person financially. Being aware while dating online can save you from such scammers. We bring you questions that you must ask your online dates to confirm their identity and protect yourself from a romantic scam.
Questions to ask a Romance scammer
Always ask questions because that can help you understand a romance scammer. A scammer will always try to answer your questions carefully, but eventually, they will give themselves away in how they answer your questions. These questions are not different from what you usually ask someone when you meet for the first time. Remember, observing how they respond and what they answer matters a lot. Keep reading to be safe from online dating scams.
1. What's your full name or nickname?
This is a general question we might ask a potential date we meet online. A trustworthy person will answer you without any hesitation, but a romance scammer will try to dodge the question and might refuse to answer you. Even if they were to answer, they might give you a common name that runs in any fictional book, like James, Amanda, and John as such. Hence, learn to read the red flags when they answer your question.
2. Where do you live?
Again, a simple question for a genuine person to answer. A romance scammer will hesitate or give you vague answers without any specific location.
Here, you need to act smart and be observant. If the other person says New York City or any other state, then ask specific questions about where in New York City and further details about their location. A romance scammer will be very uncomfortable telling you about their particular address and trying to falsify their information. So, run a quick google search to verify their details.
3. What do you do for a living / What's your profession?
Most professional romance scammers claim to have high-end jobs like an army, surgeon, investment banker, and any work that requires them to transfer or move countries. Or they might say they don't work to avoid answering profession-related questions. If they make tall claims, ask profession-related questions about their place of work and inquiries related to their work. Most scammer use professions that allow moving or shifting from one place to another to avoid meeting and thus engages the victim in buying them plane tickets to meet.
A real person will answer comfortably about their profession, while a scammer will try to manipulate you. Try to look for their profile on LinkedIn or other websites.
4. Can you send me a good picture of yours?
Professional scammers often use fake pictures that look attractive to lure people into their trap. They might use a model's picture as their profile picture to confuse you. Once you ask for a picture, scammers might say they are shy or insecure about showing themselves, or they will continuously refuse to offer you a picture of themselves.
Even if they send you a picture, check it on google to be safe. Professional romance scammers do not like revealing their faces. You will learn a lot about a romance scammer by observing their excuses or behavior when you ask for a picture.
5. Where do you study / Where did you study?
Always ask this question to confirm details about their education. A romance scammer will tell you that they went to the Ivy League or some famous college. Tell them that one of your cousins goes to the same college and if they know them. This question will make them nervous, and they will give themselves away. If they did not go to college, you could ask for details about their high school, where they lived as a child, etc., to confirm their identity.
6. Tell me something about your family?
If you doubt that the person you are talking to is a romance scammer, asking them about their family tells a lot about them. Firstly, a scammer won't show any interest in discussing family and will say vague or generic information to you. Ask for a family picture and their names. You can do this by providing your information. This will make it necessary for them to talk about their family and share casual photos, and if they still refuse, you know they might be a romance scammer.
7. When can we meet?
A romance scammer will never meet you, and they will give solid excuses like they are traveling or not available to meet at the moment. Tell them that you can visit their city to meet them. A real person will tell you an exact time and explain themselves, but a romance scammer would seal this chance to ask you for money indirectly, like they cannot pay for flight tickets, etc., trapping you in an online dating scam.
8. Can we talk on a video call?
A romance scammer will never talk to you on a video call. They will give you lame excuses like their camera is broken or not functioning. They will dodge you forever. As a cautious person, you should make this demand more than once and observe their responses. They might stop talking to you, thinking you are alert, or they might say they want to get their phone camera fixed and cannot make a transaction. So, do ask these questions to identify an online dating scam.
9. What nickname would you like to give me?
This might look like a silly question. But suppose a person is romantically interested in someone. In that case, they will try to answer this question may be romantically or funnily, but a romance scammer might give you a generic nickname related to your name right away. Scammers behave overly romantic and will make tall claims about everything.
10. Who is your inspiration/favorite sports team/favorite movie/favorite restaurant?
Asking about personal preferences evokes emotion. A normal person will share such choices and share individual instances from their life about why they prefer a particular team or restaurant. They might share details such as how they love a specific scene in a movie and why they think of someone as their inspiration. A romance scammer will share such details without any context or might say they are not interested in sports or don't watch movies and prefer a healthy lifestyle, so don't eat outside.
Hence, ask questions that invoke emotions, which might send people down a memory lane and share vivid details from their life, and a romance scammer would never do that because that's not how online dating scams work.
Common Red flags to Identify a Romance Scammer
- They are overly secretive about basic things.
- They will try to be overfriendly within a short period.
- No video calls and limited voice calls. Most of the talking will take place on chats.
- They have common names, and you might find it hard to feel a purely romantic connection.
- They will often talk about money before they start asking for money indirectly. That's the objective of online dating scams.
To Conclude
Online dating scams are widespread. It isn't very reasonable to completely entrust yourself with a dating app. Whenever you meet a potential date online, make your intention clear and ask for correct details. Schedule a meeting with the person, and beware of sharing your financial information before meeting them because you never know you might be talking to a romance scammer. For more information on online scams, dating tips, and advice, visit perfect10dating.com.
