If you are looking for a new relationship, you can try OKCupid- one of the most popular online dating sites today. How easy it is to sign up and start chatting with people, unfortunately just as easy become a victim of fraud .
Before you get too chatty with someone you meet on OKCupid, you need to know what to look out for. Some of these scammers are smarter than you think.
Check out these additional tips for staying safe when talking to people on OKCupid .
Here are just five of the most common types of scams you may encounter on OKCupid.
01
from 05
Sexual Explicit Fraud
i000pixels / Getty Images
It’s no surprise that things can get pretty hot between two OKCupid users long before they meet in person. The scammer can play this game by acting as if he is very attracted to you and wants to see more.
In these extortion scams (also called «sectortion» scams), the scammer will typically ask for your phone number so you can «send» explicit videos of yourself to the scammer. They may even ask you Snapchat Username, since sexting is a popular activity on the platform.
Once the scammers get these videos, they will threaten to expose these videos to your friends or social media contacts unless you pay them a certain amount of money.
Avoid explicit sexual solicitation scams
- Beware of profiles that contain very attractive photos (too good to be true) and have incomplete profile details.
- Beware of anyone asking for your phone number or other type of contact very early in the chat.
- Never send explicit sexual videos of yourself to anyone (on OKCupid or elsewhere). if you are not ready to face the consequences of the possibility of their leakage.
02
from 05
Fraud with extortion
Soifer/Getty Images
The other type of extortion scam used on OKCupid, as well as other dating sites, is somewhat more complicated than the one that involves getting explicitly sexual videos of you. This type of scam involves a man posing as a young woman.
The target is men, of course. A scammer posing as a young woman will typically be open to sexual intercourse early in the chat, offering to send in nude photos and possibly asking for them in return.
If you fall victim to this type of scam, you will end up receiving a message or call from a seemingly furious man who claims to be the father of the young woman who discovered what you were doing. He will claim that his daughter is underage and then threaten to report you to the police.
The scammer expects you, the victim, to panic and explain yourself. At the last moment, he will fake some sympathy and come up with some story related to his daughter where payment is required.
Finally, he will offer you a deal. If you make the payment, he will let you off the hook.
Avoid underage user extortion scam
- Beware of young women who seem eager to send you explicit photos or videos.
- Try not to give your phone number to anyone you meet on OKCupid in the very early stages of a relationship.
- Never send explicit photos or videos of yourself to anyone.
- If you receive a message or call from someone claiming to be the father of a young woman, do not answer/hang up or block the number.
03
from 05
scam bot
non-exclusive / Getty Images
It’s a sad reality that OKCupid is riddled with bots. Their profiles include stolen photos of attractive people to grab your attention when they land in your inbox with a message. Many of these photos are even used in multiple profiles.
Indeed, all dating sites/apps can be downloaded by bots. For example, Tinder is suffering from scam bots designed to trick users into giving away personal information. Always be careful not to disclose personal information to anyone on the website or app.
The bot will use an automated script along with pre-made responses to give the impression that you are talking to a real person. However, in the end, the bot will tempt you with some promise of sexually explicit content from them, such as webcam videos.
The scammer will then try to redirect you from OKCupid to some webcam website, where you will be asked to enter payment information. If you follow this link and enter your payment details, you risk seeing fraudulent payments in your account.
Depending on the purpose of the scammers and the type of site they redirect you to, you may also risk having your personal accounts hacked, identity theft, or end up with malware/viruses on your computer or mobile device.
Avoid bot scams
- If you are a man looking for a partner, beware of attractive women who tell you first. Many of these types of bots are aimed at men.
- As with the extortion scam discussed above, beware of profiles that have photos that show a very attractive person with minimal details filled in.
- Never click on third party links that someone from OKCupid sends you.
04
from 05
Fraud abroad
Ostapenko Olena / Getty Images
Online dating has opened up an opportunity to develop relationships with people all over the world. While long distance relationships aren’t usually ideal, scammers know that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to do just about anything for someone they really like — even if they’re thousands of miles away.
Many scammers operate from third world countries. For them, fraud can be a full-time job. They may even work for someone else along with other scammers doing the same job.
These types of scammers target Americans and claim to be American themselves, but they have a story about why they are overseas. Maybe they are traveling, they are in the army or visiting family.
Once the scammers feel that you are loyal enough to them, they will use some kind of sobbing story to ask you for money — perhaps to help them get home or cover emergency costs.
Avoid scams abroad
- Beware of those who claim to work or travel abroad (especially in the military).
- Beware of those who claim to be from your country, but the chat messages seem to have many spelling and grammatical errors.
- Beware of those who go into detail about their financial situation or an emergency that they need to take care of immediately.
- Beware of those who insist on chatting only — never on the phone or by phone. skype .
- Never agree to send a payment to anyone you meet on OKCupid.
05
from 05
Som scam
Anne-Marie Miller/Getty Images
Catfish is a term used to describe any person on the Internet, usually dating sites, who fakes their identity. All online dating scammers tend to use fake profiles, so technically you can name every catfish, but OKCupid is known to attract a completely different type.
Because OKCupid is like this popular dating site that som scammers are snooping on the profiles of people they know just so they can make some new connection or maintain some level of control over them. For example, a divorced woman may stalk her ex-husband out of jealousy, a gay man who is still on the closet may trap a male co-worker he has fallen in love with, or a teenage boy may stalk his mother to sabotage her from getting into a new relationship. .
While people know they catch people they know for various personal reasons, others do it at random — for people they don’t even know — simply because they find it interesting. A relationship with a catfish can go on for months or years, and the victim will never know the true identity of their catfish.
Avoid Som Scams
- Like some of the scams mentioned above, beware of profiles with a couple of photos that look too good to be true and don’t include a lot of profile details.
- Complete reverse google image search on their photos to check if they were stolen.
- Beware of anyone who comes very strongly, very quickly.
- Beware of those who make excuses why they cannot meet, talk on the phone or Skype.