If you are an online dating user or meet people on social media, be careful out there! Philippines romance scammers have a formula that continues to fool unsuspecting victims into handing over money or data, sometimes leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

With Valentine’s Day arriving, many people let their judgement be clouded by the love atmosphere. The idea of being alone in valentine’s is daunting for a lot of people, so they try to find companionship by any possible means, and this includes online dating sites, social media and apps. Although these methods can help you meet people, it is also known that the risks are serious and that the chances of being caught in a trap increase during this season.

To put things in perspective, Americans looking for love reported losses of $362 million USD in 2018 (according to the last annual report of the Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI) to romance scams. While the report accounts more victims in other types of crimes tracked by the agency, no other type of scam wreaked as much financial havoc as those rooted in romance.

It is widely known that most victims do not report the scam, and the figure above is only the tip of the iceberg. The real number is much, much larger. If we were to consider the total amount of victims worldwide, the losses would account well into the billions.

Philippines romance scammers pray on victims’ emotions

One of the most important things to understand in the online romance scam cases is that everything has been carefully studied by the fraudsters, from the profile of the victim – usually senior or recently divorced or widowed – to the timing and the strategy to use. This is why resorting to an unbiased third party that can conduct a thorough background check in the Philippines is so important. Having a professional look into the facts is the best way to guarantee that you will obtain reliable evidence as to whether this person is someone you can trust. Otherwise, you will be subject to manipulation and more likely to fall victim.

Where are these Valentine’s scammers?

The Philippines dating sites are extremely popular. Thousands of people, especially men, look for their Valentine’s among Filipinas. Scammers are well aware of this so they use dating sites or apps to meet their victims because this guarantees success (an easier target). However, social media has grown to be as popular within romance scammers to contact potential victims. Despite not being as certain as with dating sites that the target is looking for someone special, there are many more users and they are not expecting the scam at all. Accepting friend requests or engaging in conversations with strangers can be dangerous!  Facebook and Instagram have millions of fake profiles that leave victims broke and heartbroken. But other social media networks are now filled with adult-dating scams and fake accounts too. Even game sites that seem innocuous like Words with Friends have been filled by online mafia.

Be extra cautious in the Philippines

Internet love fraudsters in the Philippines are commonly real people who can prove their identity is true, but their intentions are not. Hundreds of foreigners travel to the Philippines every year to meet and share time with the person they consider their partner, but many Filipinas have a double life. They are either married, or are playing with several different men at the same time just for the money. Local surveillance in the Philippines is the most recommended service to know if you are being used for your money or suspect cheating or infidelity.

Contact us and we can help you be safe this Valentine’s!

C. Wright
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