Scams in the internet dating world are rampant. There is no dating site free of scammers.
Regardless if you are new to the internet dating world or a veteran, you should always read up on scams and the new techniques to part you and your money. The majority of these scams are out of Russia and Ukraine, with some out of the former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. Nigeria, Ghana and the Philippines have recently jumped on the bandwagon.
Background Checks
Disabled World warns its members that Internet dating and purchasing items online can be risky. We do not do any background checks of any kind of our users. Disabled World members should get to know a potential date well before agreeing to meet. Initial meetings should use common sense, such as meeting in a public place or be with a friend. Be careful, don't believe everything you hear.
Never send a man or a woman any money!
Be aware of classified buyers and sellers especially anyone offering a cashiers check over the asking price and requesting you send the extra funds to Nigeria or another country. Ensure you are positive the buyer or seller is who they say they are.
It is just not a good idea to send a stranger who you have never met, especially in another country, money period. Regardless what he/she needs it for, a visa and passport to come and see you, an operation for a loved one, a new computer, internet fees or he/she’s in Moscow on their way to see you and there’s a hidden fee that they need help paying or else they’ll be stranded at the Moscow airport for the rest of their life.
Tips to avoid being scammed online.
DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON
NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM
FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON - BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE
NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION to ANYONE.
AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES
Disabled World does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"
Most scams involve one or more of the following:
An inquiry from someone far away, often in another country. Western Union, Money Gram, cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee". Refusal to meet face-to-face before consumating transaction
Examples of Scams
A. Someone claims that Disabled World will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR claims that Disabled World will handle or provide protection for a payment. These claims are fraudulent, as Disabled World does not have any role in any transaction. Scammer will often send an official looking email that appears to come from Disabled World, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, providing payment services -- all such emails are fakes!
B. A person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check you receive an email offering to buy your item sight unseen. A cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit and the value of the cashier's check often far exceeds your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service. The banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, including criminal prosecution in some cases! This scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)
C. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram: Often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE. Common countries participating in online scams currently include: Nigeria, Romania, Ukraine, Spain, UK, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere in the world.
D. A person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money - this is ALWAYS a scam, the cashier's check is FAKE sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check.
E. A seller suggests use of an online escrow service, most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers.
F. A seller asks for a partial payment upfront, after which he will ship goods they say they trust you with the partial payment and may say that they have already shipped the goods.
G. A foreign company offers you a job receiving payments from customers. The foreign company may claim it is unable to receive payments from its customers directly you are offered a percentage of payments received this kind of "position" may be posted as a job, or offered to you via email BEWARE it is a scam!
Red flags leading up to the money request should also be taken into consideration.
If he/she loves you after 3 weeks or 3 letters. (Or without ever meeting.
Huge, romantic letters talking about nothing.
He/she doesn’t answer your questions.
A new sexy photo with every letter.
He/she refers to their friends that married foreigners and now he/she wants it, too.
His/her relative or friend can get a visa for him/her. (Fine, let them pay.)
If you get a letter from an agency after a few letters from the man or woman asking for money.
You should be wary of any agency using our service to advertise their men or women.
Girls look for guys 10-15 years older than themselves, not 30.
If you see a scammer on our website, inform us and tell us how you know they are a scammer. If anyone on our site ever asks for money, please use the "report as abuse" link below.
Foreign profiles are more likely to be scams trying to part you from your money, especially Eastern European and Philippine profiles.
Nigerian advance-fee fraud has also been around for many years, but has lately been on the rise. These scammers politely promise tons of money in exchange for help moving large sums of money out of their country.
There are legitimate matches out there and in these countries, but you need to be extra-careful and investigate the person you are looking to date. We recommend that you never send money or any other support to any user for any reason.
More Scam Examples: (Use our contact link below to send examples to help prevent others from being scammed)
1/ I was on (a dating site) and 3 of my matches were scammers from Nigeria (S.B. email address xxxx phone number xxx-xxx-xxx-xxxx) his wallet was stolen with all of his money so he asked me to send him $250 which I did. Then there was another match from (a dating site) and his name was J.J. (email address xxxx phone number xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx he was doing business in Ghana buying gold he stated that he only had credit cards and they only do cash and carry so he asked me to send him some money but that i needed to send it in the name of W.P. because he was the manager of the company he was buying gold bars from AngloGold. then he asked me to send him an ipod for his son or a computer so his son would not be board and he could talk with me during the day. I send him $600 through western union and $300 through money gram. I was told that (a dating site) was hit by these scammer from nigeria and ghana.I hope that this information will be helpful they both sent me pictures and gave me addresses in the United states and they all said they were doing business in nigeria and ghana.
2/ I was contacted by HUENFELD SUPPLY CO who wished to purchase jewelry from me, 100 copies. The company insisted that I use the shipping company: West African Shipping Company. The shipping company insists in using a wire transfer for shipping while the people that were attempting to purchase the amulets with a credit card.
The postage I was to spend shipping a four pound box was nearly $3000, more than the cost of the jewelry. The shipping company raised the amount they first quoted me, a difference of well over $400. This was after I had requested an itemized list of expenses (shipping, taxes, tariffs etc). I was attempting to find a different shipper when I decided to contact our government and inquire about the cost of these extra fees. All of the estimates were way off the West African Shipping Company.
According to the government of Ghana: The shipping Company is not registered with the government as real (120 TEMA AVENUE, Accra, Ghana), the company placing the order is not real and the address does not exist.
You can read more about Nigerian scams here.
Reporting Abuse
If you know of any questionable behavior by any Disabled World members please submit an Abuse report
Link - <a href=http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/scams.shtml>Online Scam Warning - Nigeria Ghana and Philippines</a> This article is general information ONLY and is NOT a substitute for medical
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