Tips on how to avoid love-scammers on the Internet

Anyone dating online should be suspicious when very early on, love is declared and after a short acquaintance a life together is being discussed, even though a meeting in person hasn't taken place yet. — dpa

A fraudster poses as someone looking for romance and persuades an unsuspecting suitor to transfer money to them.

It's just one of the many online romance scams in which Heike Seitzer is an expert. She heads a crime inspectorate in Germany that investigates such frauds and gives tips on how to avoid being fooled.

“You should be suspicious when very early on, love is declared and after a short acquaintance a life together is being discussed,” she says.

You should also be suspicious if the language used looks like it’s been put through a translation programme or if planned meetings fall through and are then followed by requests for money.

Seitzer recommends that people never transfer money to people they haven’t met, “no matter how good the justification”.

Seitzer describes how the scammers typically present themselves: "The perpetrators try to act seriously.” Men are targeted by attractive-looking women while women are approached by men who claim to have good jobs.

“They send attractive photos of themselves but most of them are stolen from other websites. Often they use pictures of professional models,” she says.

There are anti-scamming forums where you can research whether an image has ever been used in connection with love fraud.

Besides taking their victims’ money, sometimes the scammers turn them into money launderers by using their bank account to transfer funds abroad. Again, a seemingly plausible reason is given, combined with lovesickness.

This can mean serious trouble for the victim because they could be punishable by law for the use of their account for money laundering. — dpa