Romance Scam Profile Red Flags.

By Dr. Bernard G. Vance and Dimitria McCreary, RN/MHN

Romance Scammers, Part 3 ( How to Identify a scammer by their profiles)

Yes, Romance Scammers are relentless and never stop trying to finding new ways to get into your hearts and wallets. Just this morning I had three emails from scammers trying to start a relationship with me and two of them I have already identified and posted warnings on their "Shout-outs" One of the problems is, how do you know or identify who is real and who is a scammer. I (we ) do not have all the answers, but, will try to give each of you a head start in learning to identify a scammer profile.

1. Take a good look at the picture, Scammers use photos stolen for Modeling and Porn websites. If the picture is posed and look professional be careful. (Here is a contradiction, as over the last month I have seen an increase of pictures of normal looking people used by scammers).


2. The name (screen name) does not match the nation that they say the are from, (example, an obvious African or mideastern name from Montana, USA). Also, a screen name with sexual overtones.


3. Looking for age group inappropriate for the age of the profile (Example a 23 year old female, looking for a man 25 to 99). Now be careful, as many Asian profiles have a older age range and are from real ladies.


4. Location; Scammer do not know the nation that they say they are from and have inappropriate associations of cities and states and some times countries (example, Los Angles, New York)


5. Height, many scammers never read this item and leave the height at 3'6" which is a child’s height.


6. Compare the body type with the picture and see if they match.


7. Ethnicity, from the picture what is the ethnicity of the person (Example, White, blond lady listed as Native American, or an African American listed as Asian, mixed race is a dead give away)


8. Religion; watch out for religious affiliations that are not appropriate to the area, like Christian/LDS in Africa or Europe.


9. Read what the say "In my own words" is it written like a native writer, is the English in the correct form, how is the spelling, (yes I know that many of us can not spell and make allowances for others, but really look at spelling).


10. Hair Color; look at the photo and determine if they match.:


11. If you can see the eyes in the photo, look and check for a match.


12. Is the education appropriate for the age and work that they are doing (Example, Doctorate, PhD at the age of 24).


13. Occupation: said that the had a highschool education and listed Occupation as a Nurse which requires a degree. (Watch out for buyer and sellers of antiques, art and gold, fashion, self-employed and child care).


14. Income; Is the income appropriate for the age group and occupation. Remember in the US, $32,000.00 per year is average (example, working as a secretary and earning 70.000 to 100,000 per year).


Then take a real close look at the written profile. Let’s take a look at "Red flags" that we could find in a scammers written profile.


1. Spelling is atrocious (even I can use a spell checker).


2. Unfamiliar with the language and grammar of the nation they state that they are from. (Example, say from the USA, and inconsistent with an American writer).


3. Uneducated in writing/speaking skills (like a third grade writer) .


4. Overuse of terms on endearment and emotions.


5. Notorious for using "i" instead of the proper form of "I".


6. The use of abbreviations such as u; r; ur; coz; pls; plz; ma; m; Am; sry; brb’ dev; ect.


7. Improper or mixed phrases like; i will like to heer from you soonest; I am kool; Do you have any man you care to meet,; Do you have any man you planning to meet; Looking for someone to love and care for in life; Am cheerfull in life; I will like to meet someone that is careing and loveing for real in life; "I" am too young for my age if you don’t know; Ok so how will you feel if i says i dont mind you; i will like you to be my best friend; You are so pretty for my likeness ; etc.


8. Misunderstanding our slang or comparisons such as night owl/early bird, poker face


Here is examples from scammers profile:


"Well i love my job o much, i can laugh a lot...LoL , Write me and i will tell you more about myself because i don't know what to write at the moment."


"I would describe myself as a calm, romantic, kind, honest and caring and Loving person. My hobbies are going to movies, Beaches and dining out to nice restaurantsI love playing Volley ball. I also love travelling. I like the color blue. I love kids whenever I see them on the street playing and I am wishing to have mine someday. They are so cute at this young ID charity."


"Many times the scammers copy profile but mix the profiles or gender up by putting a mans profile in a ladies profile or the profile will have two different style of writings. In the end each of us must be vigilant and look carefully at each profile and determine if it is safe to respond to."


"i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i we tell you letter i"


"ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter ask me letter"


"am the person who remember the ones that help me but also da ones who destroy me, but no matter what i learn to forgive the others because remember u only have one life so enjoy It, and never look back live the life because the years gone never come back!!!"


"i just finished my schooling so i am currently in an IT programme"


Romance scammers are also copying profile from real profiles and pasting them into their profile, many time they forget to remove the gender and will have a male profile where it should be a female or will mix two different writes in the same profile.

If you find a Scammer, Notify the site and Block them from your email , Do not let your emotions get involved as they are criminals and are only out to steal your money. If more that one of these areas do not match, beware and verify if they are a scammer before you develop a relationship.

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