Online dating scams dupe 200,000 study finds

[malaise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/28/online-dating-scams-study
<snip>
More than 200,000 people in Britain may have been conned by fraudsters posing as would-be romantic partners on internet dating sites, according to the first study examining the potential scale of the problem.

Anti-fraud groups have warned for some time about scams, in which criminals create a false identity – often an army officer on active service, explaining an inability to meet in person – and develop a close online intimacy with a victim, who is then asked for cash to help their presumed suitor out of a crisis.

It had long been suspected that official figures for such crimes greatly under-represented their prevalence, largely because many victims feel too embarrassed or hurt to go to the police, or never realise they have been conned.

The study by the universities of Leicester and Westminster, working with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), found 2% of people surveyed personally knew someone who had experienced the crime. Extrapolating this to the online UK population means more than 200,000 potential victims.

[liberal N proud]

1. You think?

[malaise]

2. LOL

:evilgrin:

[HappyMe]

3. Surprise!

Not.

[Blue_Tires]

4. This has been going on since the AOL days and probably earlier

who still falls for this stuff?

[hobbit709]

5. Those dating services are pretty much a scam to start with.

I mean would you buy a used car from that EHarmony guy.

[Kalidurga]

6. It isn't just the dating services...

I know someone that met someone through chat and ended up sending her a small fortune, they never met.

[malaise]

7. No

I am amazed at how many people use these services worldwide.

[Xithras]

8. I know three people who met their spouses on one.

Two on Match.Com, and one on eHarmony. A fourth friend has been dating a guy for about 8 months that she met on PlentyOfFish, and she's expecting "the question" any time now.

I met my wife the old fashioned way (met at a party while drunk off our asses), but online dating does seem to work for a lot of people. I wouldn't call them a scam.

[Edweird]

9. Not all. I had very good luck with Match.com. "Plenty of Fish" is free - how can that be a scam?

That's not to say that there aren't scammers on those sites, but no place is immune from hustlers - not even DU I suspect.

[customerserviceguy]

10. I wouldn't even buy a used partner from him! n/t