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Confidence tricksters duping lonely hearts online

February 26, 2010 by admin  
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These days the power of the Internet means that a rising number of people have been using the Internet in order to look at dating sites and more importantly to meet someone, and it can be incredibly easy to chat with ease to people through these sites and feel as thought you have got to know them.

However, the Office of Fair Trading is warning that some people could find themselves at the receiving end of a scam unless they exercise caution when using these sites.

The OFT has said that lonely hearts that are looking for love online should be careful that they don’t get tricked by a conman or woman into giving them personal details or even money.

The watchdog said that in some cases lonely hearts that think they have met someone special end up giving them large sums of money for things such as travelling to see them or to start a new project, and that’s can be the last that they hear of them.

Online daters have been offered advice by the OFT as part of its Scam Awareness Week, and have warned that fraudsters often target those using lonely hearts sites and dating sites in a bid to gain their trust before conning them. In many of these cases the first get to know the person through chatting online, and then claim that they want to meet up with the lonely heart but do not have enough cash to do this.

The OFT said: ‘Dating scammers are particularly ruthless as they abuse the emotional trust and attachments that people invest when looking to meet someone.’

Another official added: ‘No-one should fear using the Internet to meet people, but criminals will look for opportunities everywhere and the internet is no exception.’

Tags: Online daters, Romance scam, Human behavior, office of fair trading, Ethics

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