How to Protect Yourself against Dating Scams by Miss Know It All

Miss Know It All

There seems to be no end when it comes to people searching for love, romance or a lifetime partner on social networks, chat rooms and popular dating sites. And many great relationships and marriages have been created. But one must also be mindful that there are folks who have underhanded motives when it comes to meeting someone, which is scamming you out of your money.

When it comes to online dating, a person who pretends to be a love interest and immediately requests money is without a doubt a con-artist. You can protect yourself from being ripped-off by observing the following signs:

·       Once you meet the individual, he or she will want to leave the dating site promptly and use personal email or Instant Messaging

·       Declares his or her love at first sight

·       Claims to live in the USA but are actually living, working or traveling in another country

·      Plans to visit you but a tragedy has occurred, which prevents him or her from seeing your face to face

When you meet someone for the first time on an online dating site, never wire money to cover the following:

·       Travel expenses

·       Medical emergencies

·       Hotel bills

·       Hospital bills for a child or other relatives

·       Visas or other official documents

·       Losses from a temporary financial setback

Never send money to tide someone over after a mugging or robbery, and don’t do anyone a favor by making an online purchase or forwarding a package to another country. One request leads to another, and delays and disappointments will follow. In the end, the money will be gone along with the person you thought you knew.

You can contact the following agencies to report online dating scams:

Federal Trade Commission

The FBI

State Attorney General

~~~~~

You can recover from a broken heart, but the theft of one’s nest egg because of deception may never be fully recovered. Malicious Acts - Tales of lust, greed, deceit, and revenge! By Vivienne Diane Neal

When Romance Does Not End Happily Ever After by Vivienne Diane Neal

Imagine you are a man or a woman searching for love, romance, or a lifetime partner; you are happy because you have met someone on an online dating site, at a social function, through a pen pal service, on a social medium, or through a chance meeting. You believe you have found true love and happiness and become romantically involved with that person. The relationship is going great; love has gotten a hold on you, and you are now ready to take that next step by committing yourself to that man or woman, but somewhere down the road, you discover that a heartless pretender has played a cruel joke on you.

When you read romance novels, the endings are supposed to end happily ever after or happily for now. In the real world, the two do not always come into fruition and can sometimes lead to broken hearts and empty bank accounts.

You discover that some folks will use love and romance as embellishments to pull people into their perverted lives and use any means necessary to get what they want. This is why it is so important to get to know someone before giving out personal or financial information to a potential love interest that you meet on an online dating site.

There are numerous dating sites that do background checks, but most will deny any type of responsibilities or liabilities if you decide to meet someone online and you become the victim of a criminal act perpetuated by that person. Just searching a name on search engines may provide some information, but the details may be sketchy at best. While there are no guarantees that you won’t come across a fraudulent individual, you can try to protect yourself against potential con-artists by observing a person’s character and actions in person and not behind a computer screen.

Before providing any pertinent details about yourself or your finances, get to know that person first, on a face to face basis.  If the conversation centers only on money, this may be a sign that the individual wants to get his or her hands into your nest egg.

If you have fallen hard for someone who lives in another state or country, and he or she wants to be with you, but does not have the resources to pay for the trip but will ask you to send money for a plane, train, or bus ticket, your sixth sense should go into full mode. Because you are so infatuated with the person and see your relationship blossoming into eternal bliss, you go ahead and send the money. Chances are you will never see that individual or your money.

The last thing you want is to end up losing the shirt or blouse off your back. So, be extra careful when you meet someone on an online dating site. Love is not cheap if you end up flat broke and busted.

* * * *

About the Author: Vivienne has just written her sixth novel, Deception in Plain Sight, which is due to be released in the fall of 2014.

Shades of Deception has Been Completely Revised

Imagine lonely people searching for love, romance or a lifetime partner on an online dating site, at a social function, through a pen pal service, at a social network or through a chance meeting and believe they have found true love and happiness, only to discover that they have been deceived by heartless con artists.


Shades of Deception is a collection of ten fictional short stories centering on diverse men and women who in their speedy search for love, romance and bliss, become the targets and victims of deceit, betrayal, fraud, revenge and scandal. Each chapter tells a story as to how ordinary citizens who are sophisticated, successful and financially smart fall prey to insightful predators that use love, romance, lust and money as embellishments to destroy lives. You can now sample or read the entire book at http://www.publicbookshelf.com/contemporary/deception/

You will not be able to download this book. If you wish, you can purchase the book at the Public Bookshelf or at the following :

Smashwords e-Book
Lulu.com - Paperbook or PDF Format

Amazon's Kindle Store