Swipe Right, But Watch Out: Protect Yourself From Valentine's Day Scams Online

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, online love scams have increased manifold. As per reports, almost 40% of Indians’ online love interests are turning out to be scammers. Read on to learn how you can protect yourself from this fraud. 

 

ANUKRITI SRIVASTAVA
love scam online

With the increase in the usage of artificial intelligence, scammers are leveraging the technology to temper the online dating space. Since online dating is gaining popularity among today’s generation, the chances of online fraud have also increased. While Valentine’s Day is around the corner, here are some of the tips that will help you prevent yourself from such love frauds.   

Types Of Dating Scams

There are several ways in which online scammers will try to fraud you. Here are some of the dating scams that you should know about: 

Asking For Bank Transfers

This is one of the most common online dating scams that you can fall for. Online scammers will ask for money and they will urge you to do bank transfers. Once you make the transfers, they will block you from all means and you can get back to them. 

love scam

Asking For Gift Card Numbers

The Gift system has been upgraded with the arrival of gift cards. Most people are opting to give gift cards to their loved ones for shopping from e-commerce websites. On the contrary, this is one of the favourite ways of scammers to fraud people. They will send you a gift card and will ask for the card number in return which might lead to money dedication from your account. 

Catfishing

Artificial intelligence has enabled people to create fake identities. These online scammers will create fake identities on dating apps and will make you believe that there is a real-looking person behind them. They will try to manipulate you and will make you believe in them. Further, they will try to extract your contact number and other personal information which they can use to deceive you. 

catfishing

How You Can Protect Yourself From These Scams? 

Dating scams can happen not only on dating apps but on social media as well. So, here are the tips you can follow to prevent yourself from falling prey: 

Keep Your Account Private

No matter what social media you are using, make sure to keep it private. Every social media offers privacy settings where you can set restrictions on who can see your posts, photos and other details. 

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Be Cautious Of The Invitations

Never accept any stranger's friend request or invite on social media. These online love scammers will make fake accounts (ai driven fraud calls) to reach you. Always verify the account before you accept anyone’s request. 

scam alert

Keep Security Software Updated

Regularly update your device’s security software to the latest version. This will protect you from phishing scams (tips to save yourself from fraud calls) and online threats. 

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Follow these security guidelines to protect yourself from dating scammers. Fall in love, not in a scam. 

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