Scammers offer miraculous investment options in relationship apps

Users of dating apps are subject to all types of scams or fraud, ranging from simple scams like photos that don’t match reality, to more serious crimes, like kidnappings and false financial investments.

According to an alert from Interpol, published on Tuesday (19), the apps relationship They are loaded with malicious users, applying false investment scams, which can mean considerable financial losses.

“Interpol’s financial crime unit has received reports from around the world on these schemes and is encouraging dating app users to be vigilant, skeptical and safe when entering online relationships”, Says the international police corporation.

How it works

Scam artists pose as beautiful people interested in making friends or building relationships, but they soon show their stellar side. “An artificial romance is established in a dating app. Once the communication reaches a certain level of trust, criminals share investment ‘tips’ with their victims and encourage them to adhere to a scheme”.

Criminals can have their victims download apps from fake investment firms, create an account and purchase the services offered. Everything is orchestrated to make it look legitimate. “Are provided screenshots, the names of domain are eerily similar to real websites and customer service agents pretend to help victims choose the right products”, Informs the international police.

But after making the “sale”, the victims are blocked and the scammers never seen again. “They [as vítimas] are confused, hurt and worried that they will never see their money again […] The threat involves taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities as they search for potential matches [amorosas], but they take them to a sophisticated fraud scheme ”, explains Interpol.

No news

Scams in relationship apps are nothing new. The first scams came along with the launch of the first apps. According to Infosecurity Magazine, in the UK alone, there was a 26% increase in “romantic scams” ​​during July to August 2020. According to the FBI, in 2019, there were almost 20,000 scams in relationship apps.

Youtuber Laowhy86 (also known as C-Milk), used one of the most popular relationship apps to identify scams and frauds around the world. By far, the hit he found most was the hit of the miraculous investment app. According to him, all the information about the scammers is false: names, phone number, address …

The youtuber, who produces content about China, says that a very common scam there is that of meeting in a certain establishment and the victim is seduced to pay an overpriced amount for what they consumedthen the scammer shares the money with the establishment and never comes into contact with the victim again.

During this video, Laowhy86 impersonates a New Zealand resident and shows off some of, say, the hottest scams. But do not miss the opportunity to give a “slutty” with the “slutty”.

Sources: Interpol; Infosecurity Magazine; Laowhy86.