Partner Article

Don't Break Your Heart (and Bank Balance) Online

If you?re looking for love on the net beware of online dating scams, warns the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Con artists are increasingly using online dating agencies and chat rooms to steal money under the guise of romance. The OFT is warning people to be wary of online love interests who strike up a relationship, and then over the course of a few weeks ask for money. Warning signs, according to the government watchdog, are if any potential Romeo or Juliet talks a lot about him or herself and does not answer your questions ? this could be because they are sending standard emails to hundreds of people. Excuses for asking for money can include: ?I live abroad and want to visit you but don?t have the money?, ?I am stranded abroad and I don’t have money for travel or visa costs? ?I have been robbed and beaten? or ?I require urgent surgery or treatment for a serious illness and you are the only person who can help me?.

Christine Wade, Director of Consumer Regulation Enforcement at the OFT said: ?This latest example of an online scam shows how scammers use legitimate services to prey upon people’s vulnerabilities and hopes for companionship to defraud them of their money.? UK consumers lose an estimated £1 billion per year to a variety of scams. If you suspect an online scam, call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 to report it.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .