Every day, thousands of people meet through dating sites and social networks, where anyone from any country and any age can participate as long as they have an internet connection. It sounds kind of promising, especially for those who are seeking a fresh start, but there are great risks involved too. Online dating scams in the Philippines are one of the most common fraud schemes nowadays, and anyone can be a victim.  The damage done from such criminals can be overwhelming.

The problem with online dating is not online dating per se. It is important to make a difference between the hazards derived from a lousy use of the networking sites and the sites themselves. The greatest problem with dating online comes from not being cautious and ignoring the risk and fact that it is extremely important to verify the people that we meet online.  And in the case of Filipinas, to verify marriage records and relationship status, and understand the risk is even greater.

For anyone meeting people on social media and online dating sites, scammers in the Philippines pose a real threat.  In some fraud cases, criminals never even reveal the fact that they are from the Philippines, but instead your new contact may claim to be from the U.K. or Canada.

Despite the economic growth that the Philippines is experiencing, thousands of people remain unemployed.  Not being able to find a job and not having the opportunity to seek employment abroad creates social inequalities that finally push many people into crime rings, including those dedicated to love scams and other types of online fraud.   If you know anyone in the Philippines, they can tell you that it is very common for Filipinos and Filipinas to scam foreigners.  It is a major problem.

According to private investigators from the Philippine PI team, many victims of fraud are shocked when they find out that the woman they considered their romantic partner was actually married, and had been in contact with them with the consent of their husband, children, etc.  Or, when the person they had been communicating with for months does not even exist, and all information provided was false!  It is important to understand that for many Filipinas, scamming is just a job, an easy way to solve what the economy and the government have not yet been able to solve for them.

Con artists will spend weeks or months interacting with vulnerable singles to gain their trust, with the goal of getting their targets to send money for any one of a variety of reasons.  Or, if you like to share your personal details, you might end up getting your identity stolen or even be blackmailed.  In the Philippines, a country with so many threats of natural disasters, finding an excuse to request financial assistance is easy. The scammers may wait for a long time and try to show their dedication to the “relationship” before asking for money. But sooner or later, the financial assistance requests will appear, and you need to be prepared to spot the red flags and avoid being a victim.

Background check investigations in Manila, Cebu or the city of origin can shed light on the real person behind the profile.  Whether or not the results are good news, it’s important to know the truth early in the relationship and not wait until the damage is done.  Many of the Filipina love scammers are real, and their identities can be verified with a background check investigation, and this also complicates things.  In these cases, investigators need to put a team on the ground and conduct local investigation and surveillance, so you can see the subject’s living situation and relationship status.

It is also important to mention that no dating site is immune from fraud, but scammers move from one site to another depending on how “business” looks like in one or the other. When there have been a lot of scam alerts in one site, fraudsters move to another and let things calm down a little bit before striking again. The best way to minimize the risk is to get the evidence and verify the facts.  If your contact has a full name and date of birth, and claims to have gone to school here and work at a certain company, investigators can proceed to verify all that information, and also check other records.

If you are new in the online dating game, or are feeling uneasy about your relationship, contact us today for a free quote!  Our professional investigation team will be glad to help.

C. Wright
© 2015 Philippine PI

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