"PREDATORY" SCAMS-FRAUDS-CONS

• The person quickly confirms hi/her romantic intentions by providing their unsuspecting partner with a nominal gift.

• Did they tell you that they were currently working or living in a foreign country?

• When you start out use an anonymous email account. Be sure to change your account information to not give out your full name. This protects your privacy more as it's fairly easy to get information on a person from an email address that you've used for years.

• Use your cell phone number. A person armed with your home phone number can find your home address in just a few clicks. (Scammers may be able to find your address from a cell phone number, but it is more difficult).

• Drive yourself to the date destination. Your date need not know where you live until you know them better. Also, you can control when you want to end the evening.

• Pay half of the dinner bill. Although this is often not an issue, it's much safer to not have your date expect something in return for paying the bill.

• When you view a profile, look out for things like a sleazy user name, especially if it's a woman.

• Many online romances are conducted by translator/wedding brokers. But beware, you may be romancing a 'paid translator'. Its not uncommon for these 'brokers' to threaten physical harm to you if they aren't paid.

• You receive an email "out of the blue," and you have never belonged to any dating sites. They may have gotten your name from a social network.

• Some online dating just hit you up with marketing emails or other spam.

• Are there things that you are being told that just don't make sense?

• Person wants to utilize your U.S. residential address for the receiving and reshipping of the recent on-line purchases. That just helps facilitate the transfer of goods that were purchased on-line by fraudulent means.

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• Date posts an online picture that is very dark and makes it difficult to pick out of a crowd. Most married people do not want their picture out there for everyone to see, risking the chance that someone they know could recognize them.

• Requests your phone number but doesn't give theirs.

• Your date calls at either very irregular or very set times. A married person would have to call at their own convenience, scheduling it around their regular life.

• Beware if you always have to leave a message or if your partner only returns calls after long periods of time. If your partner always calls at exactly the same time, it may be they are calling from work during a break to avoid detection by a spouse.

• As you become close, your date won't reveal their last name and does not introduce you to friends or family. Married people will steer clear of contact with people they know and from conversations about their family and upbringing. Ask yourself what it may be he is trying to hide.

• Prostitute scam is straightforward. They place profiles on dating sites to solicit business. Such profiles are usually easily recognized by sleazy user names and steamy self-descriptions. They don't waste time letting you know what they are after or what they are offering.

• Phone scammers leave a message on your answer machine. When you call them back you will find that you will rack up lots of money with the phone company, it's all perfectly legal. If you don't know who it is don't return the call.

• A person resides overseas and asks you to help them with travel expenses to visit you.

• In a postal scam someone pretends to be a relative of a diseased government official who asks for your help in a financial transaction, they lie!.

• The Medical Emergency Scam gives you an emotional sob story about a family medical emergency and asks for financial assistance, they lie!

• If they ask for money to pay for: passport, visa, tickets, travel insurance, financial solvency money ("pocket money," "travel money," "money to show to customs," "money to show to the Embassy"), - money to pay off a loan or a mortgage, sale taxes on the their apartment,  emergency medical expenses for the girl or her relatives (illness, car accident, death in the family), bail money, pay fines for minor "accidental" violations of the law, taxes owed on the previous money transfers, money to replace stolen funds, ransom money or financial debt to mafia, presents for herself and her family at holiday times, luxury items (cell phones, clothes, etc)

• If a woman from Russia contacts you first on a large dating site, or sends you an email out of nowhere, then you're probably on a scammer list.

• If you hear any of these type stories, it's probably a scam

• Discusses her experience with men and how they betrayed her in one way or another.
• The men they have met are bad beyond redemption: they drink, they beat their women, they are thinking only about sex.
• Calls from an Internet Cafe or from her work place.
• Does not have a phone, but calls you from a "pay phone"
• Pretends to be a very traditional and family-oriented girl looking for a traditional, family-oriented guy
• Talks a lot about: her mundane daily activities,  about unconditional trust that the two people must have in each other for the real love to happen
• Often talks about going to church or praying for the relationship to work.
• Talks about her girlfriend who married a guy from another country and how happy they are together.
• Starts to call the guy "my love", "my prince", "my sunshine", "my best friend", "my future husband", etc.
• Starts to sign her letters "your princess", "your love", "your future wife", etc. Lots of kisses and hugs are given at the end of each letter.
• Letters become intensely long, flowery and romantic.
• Some romantic poems may be inserted in the letters
• Says she is daydreaming a lot about him and her friends tease her about it
• Discussed her new love with her mother, or father, or grandparent, or best friend, and receives their blessing and approval.
• Tell the victim that she is experiencing sexual dreams about him