Spring Breaking Badly

Don’t worry, we haven’t become Americanised (note the use of s instead of z), but the hashtag #springbreakingbadly has caught our attention this week. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs released a tweet that said, “Not a ’10’ in the US? Then not a 10 overseas. Beware of being lured into buying expensive drinks or worse – being robbed. #springbreakingbadly”.

This bizarre and much ridiculed piece of advice for American tourists is a good reminder that it is important to be aware of people or situations that are too good to be true, particularly when it comes to online dating.

At Muddy Matches we work incredibly hard to stop scammers from joining the website, but not all dating websites have the same level of protection in place to safeguard their members, so it’s important to be cautious.

Picture perfect

Scammers typically use photos of beautiful women and handsome men to lure people in. Of course there are lots of gorgeous people who use dating websites, but if someone seems too attractive you should aware that they could be a scammer.

Excessive flattery

Another method that scammers use is to be incredibly complimentary. It’s normal for someone to say ‘I thought you looked lovely in your photo’, but if they say ‘You’re the most sexy and devine woman I have ever seen. I feel blessed to be able to talk to someone so wonderful and gorgeous’, they are likely to be a scammer.

Asking for money

When most people think about scammers, they immediately associate them with requests for money. Usually a scammer will build up a rapport with you before asking for money, but in some cases the request might come early on in a conversation.

Never send someone money, even if you feel like you have developed a relationship online!

Reporting scammers

If you suspect that someone is a scammer, it is important to report them to the website administrator so that they can investigate further.

You should halt contact with them and avoid giving them any personal details such as your phone number, email address, or address.