Millions of people turn to online dating apps or social networking sites to meet someone. But instead of finding romance, many find a scammer trying to trick them into sending money. Read about the stories romance scammers make up and learn the #1 tip for avoiding a romance scam.

Romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and apps, or contact their targets through popular social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, or Google Hangouts. The scammers strike up a relationship with their targets to build their trust, sometimes talking or chatting several times a day. Then, they make up a story and ask for money.

The Lies Romance Scammers Tell

They’ll often say they’re living or traveling outside of the United States. We’ve heard about scammers who say they are:

working on an oil rigin the militarya doctor with an international organization

We’ve heard about romance scammers asking their targets for money to:

Pay for a plane ticket or other travel expensespay for surgery or other medical expensespay customs fees to retrieve somethingpay off gambling debtspay for a visa or other official travel documents

Scammers ask people to pay:

by wiring moneywith reload cards like MoneyPak or gift cards from vendors like Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, or Steam

Scammers ask you to pay by wiring money, with reload cards, or with gift cards because they can get cash quickly and remain anonymous. They also know the transactions are almost impossible to reverse.

Here’s the bottom line: Never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met in person.

If you suspect a romance scam:

Stop communicating with the person immediately.Talk to someone you trust, and pay attention if your friends or family say they’re concerned about your new love interest.

Do a search for the type of job the person has to see if other people have heard similar stories. For example, you could do a search for “oil rig scammer” or “US Army scammer.” You can also browse the comments on our blog posts about romance scams to hear other people’s stories:Faking it – scammers’ tricks to steal your heart and money Has an online love interest asked you for money? Romance scams will cost you Do a reverse image search of the person’ profile picture to see if it’s associated with another name or with details that don’t match up – those are signs of a scam.

The Internet is full of Hackers and Scammers. 

Were you Scammed out of Thousands of hard working cash?

Give us a Call 072 613 9925 

If you paid a romance scammer with a gift card, contact the company that issued the card right away. Tell them you paid a scammer with the gift card and ask if they can refund your money.

If you think it’s a scam, contact our Head of Investigations Rodney van Rensburg Immediately so he can check it for you.

Introduction

Having a run-in with the law can leave you feeling completely powerless.  Imagine feeling that way, and being falsely accused on top of everything else?

The latest scam is buzzing through the streets of South Africa and plenty of eligible business as well as legal minds have fallen for it in order to guard against  reputational damage and to avoid public humiliation .

The question however is: How far will people go or better yet, how much will they pay to avoid the facing reputational damage?.

What Does The Scam Entail?

The method is simple. An unknown number will call you, the caller will tell you that he/she is a police officer. They claim that they have a docket with your name on it and have a live warrant for your arrest for some or other sex-crime and therefore it would be classified as a schedule 6 offence. The phone call would normally be on a Thursday or Friday and the person would make it clear that getting bail would be hard for this criminal offence. The police officer will thereafter offer to make this docket disappear for a certain amount if you would be willing to pay.

What Should You Do Know If This Happens To You?

The fear of having criminal charges against you can be very overwhelming and scary. many people therefore,  would just pay the bribe  in order to make the "fake problem" go away and avoid the hassle..

This, however, is not a long-term solution. Paying the bribe may carry a corruption penalty or charge as well as obstruction of justice. Not only will you now be guilty of an actual offense, they will keep coming back for more pay-offs.

It is therefore important to remain calm and not to do anything drastically. According to the Minister of Police, your rights as a citizen in these instances are the following:

• You are allowed to ask for proper identification of the Police Officer;

• You are allowed to ask for the docket number;

• You are allowed to ask for the police-officer's badge number and the station he allegedly works at;

• You are allowed to ask for the charge against you and the schedule of the offence;

• You are allowed to ask for the details of the case.

Legal Concept:

 "Can they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was committed."?  

What does this mean? The onus of proof lies with the state to prove that you are guilty of the offence. This means that the state will have to prove your guilt with evidence such as witnesses, rape kits and other evidence that proved the sex-crime happened and that you are guilty of the offence.

What Should You Do If This Happens To You?

Consulting with a Professional Private Investigator would be a very good place to start when figuring out your plan of action.

The most important thing  is to be alert. A police officer will never phone you from an unknown number and they will never ask you for money in any way.

Getting Professional advice is always helpful in understanding the process of criminal procedure and having someone that is aware of the situation, should they close in and make an actual arrest.

The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele said that they are aware of the elaborate scam and that there have been several arrests of impersonators. According to him: "Such acts cannot be tolerated. At no point will police ever ask citizens for cash in exchange for favours. Citizens also have the responsibility and right to ask for identification from anyone who identifies themselves as police officers, and officers are obliged to comply with such a request.".

Conclusion

It is astonishing how fearful even professional minds can get when faced with the possibility of a criminal record. These scammers feed on the fear of innocent civilians and will exploit the fact that citizens would rather pay any amount to avoid imprisonment, even if they have not committed the crime. It is therefore always important to keep calm, stay rational and reach out for Professional advice. Give Private Investigator Rodney van Rensburg a Call at 072 613 9925 or E-Mail rodney@iss-investigations.co.za