With the rising popularity of online dating, there has also been a rise in the number of dating sites, and unfortunately, in online dating scams some of these sites use. When choosing an online dating site you should first of all make a research of how does it look like. Are there many attractive single men and women in your area even if you live in a small town? This can be a sign of a scam. Dating sites can use fake profiles to swindle you out of money and to show that the number of users in higher than it is in reality.
Now, try browsing profiles in multiple cities. Do they all look familiar or repeat sometimes? It’s a very dangerous sign, and now you can almost be sure that this site uses fake profiles. Often these profile photos are taken from the internet, so you can try to use google to find it out and you have good chances of finding these photos in other places too.
Did that pretty young lady write to you, you wrote back but she never answered? If it happened once, it can be just a fluke. But if it keeps repeating again and again – it’s a scam. These women almost always are fakes.
Try to read the terms of service. Sometimes it’s a very huge pile of text which is hard to read but if you’re suspicious, do it. You can find a lot of important information there. Some services use fake profiles to seem busier than they are – and make you turn your free profile into a paid subscriber. What are you looking for in the terms of service? These sites will usually describe the process of using fake profiles as an “entertainment factor”. Well, there’s actually no entertainment factor for you as far as you don’t like to waste money.
Don’t hesitate to browse the internet for reviews of the site. The keywords here will be “name of the dating site”, “scam”, “review”. If you think this site is using fake profiles, you’re probably not the first one to come across this scam. People usually share their opinion about things they didn’t like and if some more people say that they are suspicious about the site – avoid it. Try another one.
And one more tip – try to contact customer support. Ask a question and look for their reaction. How much time it took to reply to you? Was the answer helpful? Was it written in an appropriate style? Usually, sites that have poor customer support are either just bad or are scamming people. DON’T use those sites if you have any doubts.
Online dating can be a lot of fun and a great way to find you Mr/Ms Right. But you need to know where to search.
