On September 5, 2019, Facebook launched a service for those looking to find online love called Facebook Dating. With this app, you link your pre-existing Facebook account to your Facebook dating account and list your interests on your profile. With these interests, the Facebook algorithm then matches you with people who have the same interests as you, so the fact that there is such thing as a Facebook Dating romance scam never crosses your mind.

However, this could be dangerous because a scammer could say they are interested in every single thing they can to match with as many people as they can. You might think you just matched with prince charming who has all the same interests as you, but really you matched with a romance scammer who only cares about what’s inside your wallet.

How Romance Scammers Trick Their Victims Into the Facebook Dating Romance Scam

When they first match with you, they flirt with you quickly.

They will do anything to start up that relationship with you as quickly as possible to gain your trust, and you can’t resist since they are using a good-looking photo to reel you in. They will say anything to make you fall in love with them and make you feel like you’re the most important person in their life so that you trust whatever they say. They even copy and paste out of a playbook filled with scripts to send to their victims, proven to work when trying to get their victims to fall for them.

Once you fall in love with them and they gain your trust, they start asking you for money.

At first, it could be as something as simple as they don’t have enough money to pay for groceries, or they need to put gas in their car. Other times, they tell you that they need help with a mega emergency purchase that will affect their life or job (usually military or oil rig) if they don’t receive help. Since you love and care for them, you don’t question whether they are lying to you or not, you just know they need your help and you do what they ask.

Once they drain your bank account and you have no more money to give them, they block you.

They realize that they took every single cent out of your bank account, and they leave without warning. They have other victims to scam out of their hard-earned money, and since they already drained your bank account they see no point in continuing the relationship.

The Romance Scam Industry is Actually an Office-Like Job in Nigeria

Romance scammers in Nigeria all work in an office-like environment, and their job performance is based on how much money they can steal from their victims and how many victims they can scam at a time. Nothing about what they feel for you is real, they only care about how much money they make off of you so that they can impress their bosses.

They copy and paste their feelings for you out of a playbook because they know those phrases make people fall in love with them. Every single thing they tell you isn’t real, it’s just something they are telling you to make you love and trust them faster.  The faster you love and trust them, the faster they can get your hands on your money.

Signs of a Facebook Dating Romance Scam

• They work overseas at an oil rig or in the military.
• They have poor grammar or have an accent.
• Their photo looks heavily edited or too good-looking.
• They never want to video chat with you or meet you in person.
• They fall in love with you and flirt too quickly.
• They ask you to send them money, especially if it’s over a wire transfer or gift card.

How to Avoid the Facebook Dating Romance Scam

• Ask to meet them in person or video chat with them before getting too serious. This will give you the peace of mind that you are talking to a real person before proceeding in the relationship.
• Take it slow. If you rush a relationship, it’ll be easier for the scammer to take advantage of you. If you slow the relationship down and take the time to get to know them, you’ll be able to see their true colors faster.
• Don’t send anyone any money for any reason. If someone truly loves you, they wouldn’t expect you to send them money for any reason. Instead, this person would rely on their friends or family to help them out; not someone they are talking to on the internet.
• Don’t give anyone your personal information. They can also use this to drain your bank account by committing identity theft, pretending to be you. They can then contact your bank and ask for your account information amongst many other things to steal your money.
• If you suspect someone is trying to scam you, block them immediately.

Social Catfish is Here to Help You!

If you’ve been scammed or think that you are being scammed, Social Catfish is here to help you figure out the identity of your scammer and avoid that pesky Facebook Dating romance scam. We can reverse search any name, email address, phone number, address, social media username, or image to see who it is you’ve really been talking to!

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