Identifying fake online dating and social media profiles has become one of the biggest concerns for thousands of people all around the world who are seeking love and friendship online, and the Philippines is no exception.   In fact, the Philippines is a high risk country for romance scams and internet fraud, so when it comes to Philippines online dating, there is a lot at stake.  Get lucky and find someone you can build a friendship or relationship with.  Get mixed up with a scammer, and get your identity stolen, get your computer and accounts  hacked, or even get blackmailed.

Private investigators in Manila and Cebu have been working for a long time in spotting online fraudsters who are taking advantage of innocent people on the internet. According to Nathan Mendoza, director of the Background Checks division at Philippine PI™, the cases of fraud in online relationships are becoming more and more difficult to detect.  Criminals and experienced con artists now have many tools at their disposal to convince you they are real, and it usually takes a trained investigators to verify the facts, and get clear evidence.  The truth is, anyone can be a victim.

“Online relationships are now coming from many different sources and this makes it harder for all the organizations that are fighting fraud”, states Mendoza. The online dating industry has hit rock bottom with its reputation of fraud and scams, and fake profiles – many of which are created by the online dating websites themselves to attract potential subscribers.  Many people have run away from these websites due to being victim of a romance scam themselves, or reading about it somewhere else. This fact has triggered a migration of online fraudsters to new platforms such as social networks. Some of the most popular websites like Facebook are now infested with online criminals trying to easily get a grip on the hard earned money of people, and even though these companies invest a lot of money and time trying to fight fraud in their platforms, the situation is getting more difficult to control.

Many NGO´s today dedicate their efforts to alerting people about fraud and scam online, but the situation has spiraled out of control and it is in people´s interest to get informed, investigate and avoid being a victim.   Take advantage of reputable investigation companies that offer comprehensive background check investigators, so you can make an informed and safe decision.

Here are a couple of tips from the Philippine PI team on verifying who is behind the profile:

Check the right places.

Due to the increase in online dating scams in the Philippines, many forums and websites have proliferated with information about scammers. You might find useful information about how to avoid being scammed online, but it is also important to consider that none of these sites are immune. For instance, forums might be good places for people to tell their stories and alert others, but they should not be taken as a reliable source of information. If you want to verify that the person you are dating online is legit, then your best option is a real background check. A true verification will confirm names, dates of birth, addresses, employment and education claims, verify any ID or passport or document, and investigate for any criminal, court and marriage records, as well as screen the case for fraud.  Searching for a cheap database online to verify someone?  Don’t be fooled.  In this world, you  get what you pay for, and the internet is a tool of limited value when it comes to proper verification.  And in the Philippines and other developing countries, the internet adds almost no value.

The information that a dating background check in the Philippines will provide is in many ways like a good insurance policy.  It’s good to be covered before the bad things happen, so be smart and get an investigation BEFORE you believe something is wrong and you might be a victim.

Ask the important questions.

Philippine PI investigators have a lot of experience with romance fraud cases.  Investigators have found that having certain information makes verifying a lot easier and the final results of the investigation can be a lot more accurate when you have this data. Too many times people have been in an online relationship for years, but they have never asked the right questions in order to get their partner verified.  In many of the cases, people remember details of the other party´s life, like their friends names or their personal interests, but do not know for sure the name of where their Filipina girlfriend works, or where she said she went to school, or even when exactly is her date of birth. Facts like a date of birth, addresses, ID or documents, etc cannot be changed and are crucial data.

Confirming who is behind an online profile can be confusing if you don´t have the right tools, access to information and proper experience.  To be safe, rely on a professional!

Have you met someone online?  Contact us today for a free quote.

C. Wright
© 2014 Philippine PI

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