PRESS RELEASE – July 3 – Venntro Media Group's WhiteLabelDating.com anti-scammer technology now checks all members against known scammers reported by Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau which is run by the City of London Police (the national lead force for fraud).
Category: Scammer
Elite Mate Integrates MyLife Identity Verification & Reputation Scores Into Its Dating Profiles
PRESS RELEASE – May 30 – Elite Mate, the dating site for affluent professionals, will implement MyLife identity verification and Reputation Scores into all of its dating profiles. The integrated MyLife widget will verify user profiles, in addition to providing access to Background Reports, Reputation Scores, and personal reviews of all of its members. MyLife's platform includes compiled government, social, and public records for ~320M people in the US.
See full article at Internet Dating Newswire
Zoosk To Protect Military Members, Preventing Romance Scams
WARISBORING – May 16 – In 2016, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received ~15k reports of romance scams. According to Zoosk, ~1/4 of profiles that get blocked on suspicion of fraud are attempts at impersonating members of the US Armed Forces so the site is launching a military verification feature, called Insignia, to verify whether or not a user is a member of the US Armed Forces. Zoosk partnered with SheerID, a long-trusted verification company, to provide active duty military and reservists the opportunity to verify that they are legitimate service members.
Aussies Conned Out Of $3.55M So Far This Year By Online Dating Fraudsters
NEWS.COM.AU – May 4 – Comparison website finder.com.au recently analysed data from the ACCC and found Aussies have lost ~ $3.55M through dating scams this year alone. That's a 19% increase from the same period in 2017, with 402 reported cases from January to March 2018. The average victim lost ~$9K and just over half of those scammed are female, with 45 – 54 year olds most likely to fall victim.
MyLife Launches Reputation Platform
PR NEWSWIRE – May 10 – MyLife is allowing websites and mobile app developers – including dating and all other online services – to verify profiles, and provide access to Background Reports, Reputation Scores, and personal reviews for all of their members. MyLife has invested ~$240M into its platform and provides compiled government, social, and public records for ~320M people in the United States, giving access to verified background records including a person's age, past and current marital status, criminal and court records, lawsuits, liens, and bankruptcies, as well as Yelp-like personal reviews and an overall Reputation Score for everyone so people can know more about others they are engaging with online.
MyLife Launches Reputation Platform For Developers
PRESS RELEASE – May 10 – MyLife is allowing websites and mobile app developers, including dating and all other online services, to verify profiles, and provide access to background reports, reputation scores, and personal reviews for all of their members. MyLife has invested ~$240M into its platform and provides compiled government, social, and public records for ~320M people in the US. Developers can get started here or emailing Jeannette Weinstein for partnership details.
Romance Scam Victims Say Facebook Dating Is A Train Wreck In The Making
HUFFINGTON POST – May 2 – Not everybody is thrilled by Tuesday's announcement that Facebook is planning to run its own dating platform on the site. Facebook has done a poor job of policing its platform and keeping it free from scammers, said multiple victims. "It's a train wreck waiting to happen," said the moderator of Romance Scammers Exposed, a Facebook group that helps victims identify stolen photos used by romance scammers in West Africa, where many online scammers are based. "It's going to be party time in West Africa," said Ruth Grover, who runs ScamHaters, a site that posts warnings about online profiles that appear to be scammers. Facebook said nothing about security and identity verification.
by Ann Brenoff
See full article at Huffington Post
Homeland Security: Top Cyber Risks Are Mobile Apps & Users
FOX BUSINESS – Apr 24 – Most mobile app users trust that the apps they download from app stores are safe and secure. But that isn’t the case, according to Douglas Maughan, who heads up the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology division. “Most mobile apps aren’t vetted,” he says. Percy Tucker, senior manager of systems engineering at RSA, showed us how exposed user data is when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Everything done on an app can be seen – if that app doesn’t have proper security. “If a user is on their laptop and they are doing something under an unencrypted protocol we can actually visually reconstruct exactly what they are seeing.”
ScamSurvivors.com Expose Dating Fraudsters
THE SUN – Feb 13 – Wayne May and Kari-Anne Liebling run ScamSurvivors.com, where they dedicate their free time to exposing online fraudsters. According to Action Fraud, people lost £41M last year. On average, Action Fraud received 10 reports a day from victims of romance scammers, with 18% of them being left at risk of bankruptcy. ScamSurvivors.com forum has been running since 2012 and Wayne claims they receive ~9K emails from all over the world every day. Wayne, who's day job is a carer, typically spends about five to six hours a day "volunteering" on the site. He doesn't charge for his services but people can make a donation to the site if they like.
Targets Of Online Dating Scams Lost $1B Over Last 3 Years, BBB Says
OMAHA WORLD HERALD – Feb 13 – An investigation by the BBB found that victims in the US and Canada have reported losing ~$1B over the last three years alone as a result of such scams. The BBB estimates that number is low, since many people are too embarrassed to report it. The common denominator among the victims: They believe they have found true love and will do anything to keep it. The FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center estimates that, besides investment fraud, romance scams cause the greatest dollar loss of any fraud or scam affecting individuals.