DATING ADVICE – Mar 19 – Civic has designed a new mobile authentication tools for consumers and businesses using blockchain technology. Online dating apps can look to Civic to make the online dating experience more trustworthy and secure. Civic provides users with a digital identity that uses biometrics to protect an individual's identity, and it empowers the consumers to keep private information, including credit card numbers and passwords, safe. Instead of logging in through Facebook and sharing data with a dating app, users could log in through Civic and only share relevant info, such as name, date of birth, and phone number. Users will have more control of their personal data and dating apps can build trust by verifying that every user is who they say they are.
Category: Scammer
FSU Researcher Developing an Online Polygraph
Deep Learning-Powered ‘Fake Faces’ Will Transform Catfishing
FORBES – Mar 11 – Catfishing and the use of false profiles to scam and extort people online has become an unfortunate fact of our modern digital life. Deep learning now allows the creation of entirely artificial faces and voices. It is possible to create fake faces reflecting any demographic background and age. While the photos still contains tell-tale imperfections that give it away to the trained eye, the average person is unlikely to see if the image is fake, especially when viewed on the small screen of a mobile device while on the go.
Date Check Provides Background Checks for Online Daters in New Zealand & Australia
SCOOP.CO.NZ – Mar 5 – Watching friends walk through the rigmarole of online dating, Date Check founder Cheney McGlynn saw the need for a service that background checked potential online partners before getting romantically involved. Date Check provides clients with a full report in as little as 24h. The report costs $99 (for 3-5 days turnaround) or $149 (ready in 24h).
BBB Report on How Romance Scam Victims Become Money Mules
BBB.ORG – Feb 14 – In the past 36 months, Better Business Bureau (BBB) received 636 Scam Tracker reports related to romance fraud. In addition, BBB received ~7,500 complaints against online dating services, in which some of the complainants alluded to fraudulent activities. BBB estimates there may be a million romance fraud victims in the U.S. alone. Losses reported in the U.S. and Canada over three years totaled ~$1B. Last year, BBB released a report about online romance scams. The study described the inner workings of how fraudsters target those looking for romance. This follow-up report takes a deeper look into how some victims inadvertently become "money mules." Fraudsters need a method to get funds from victims without being discovered. In many cases, money first passes to "money mules," who then transfer it to the fraudsters, often outside of the country. Money mules often are unsuspecting romance fraud victims themselves who may end up in serious legal troubles. It is estimated that 20-30% of romance victims were used as money mules. Full report here.
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Video: How Romance Scammers Work
ABC.NET – Feb 14 – Reporter Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop travelled to Ghana to meet the scammers and watch them at work. At the heart of their business is the 'romance scam', where criminals, often posing as lovelorn US soldiers, convince their victims to send them money. Watch the video here.
by Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop
See full article at ABC.net
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Women ‘Victims in 63% of Romance Scams’
BBC – Feb 11 – Victims of romance scams – the majority of whom are women – lost an average of £11,145 each last year, according to new data from police reporting centre Action Fraud. ~£50M was lost in these scams in 2018 when fraudsters pretend to be romantically attached. In 2018, 4,555 reports of romance fraud were made to Action Fraud. Total losses were up by 27% compared with the previous year. The total is likely to be higher as many victims are thought to have suffered in secret. The average age of a romance fraud victim is 50 and 63% of victims are women.
by Kevin Peachey
See full article at BBC
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New Scammer Research By Barclays
THE FINANCIAL – Oct 18 – According to new research from Barclays, one in three romance scams (37%) results in losses of ~£5K. Almost two-thirds of cases (57%) result in losses of ~£2K. 'Baby-boomers' now represent 55% of all reported instances of romance scams. Almost half of daters (43%) admit they would trust someone after speaking through a dating site for just two weeks. Men are likely to trust a potential partner much sooner, 53% saying that they would trust someone up to two weeks after they start talking, compared to a third of women (33%).
Man Sets Up Agency To Verify Online Dating Users For £20
METRO.CO.UK – Aug 9 – Andy Bartram set up Vet Your Date earlier this month to stop singletons from being catfished by fake profiles or scammers. The former police worker charges £20 to search details of any Tinder or Bumble match and put together a report for his customer. He is going to be introducing a monthly subscription for those who are constantly talking to new people online.
7 Nigerians Charged In Alleged Dating Site Scheme
ASSOCIATED PRESS – July 15 – Seven Nigerians are facing charges after prosecutors say they targeted people on dating sites and swindled them out of ~$1.5M. Five have been arrested and two are fugitives.