Safety when looking for a partner online: Protection against romance scammers
Security in online dating is not only a major issue for LemonSwan, but also for users. This term is often used in connection with so-called romance scammers or love scammers. Here's what this is all about and how you can protect yourself against it:
Security at LemonSwan: Every profile is hand-picked
LemonSwan takes the security of its members very seriously, which is why we have our door staff who check and hand-pick each profile individually. The aim is to create a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere in which only members with serious intentions get to know each other. Every profile and every profile entry is checked manually by one of our trained gatekeepers. They pay particular attention to any unusual features, inconsistencies, or dubious intentions. A decision is then made as to whether the applicant is allowed to pass through the door. Only with this laborious manual validation can LemonSwan guarantee that members only meet high-quality contacts and that there are no romance scammers on our site. The gatekeepers at LemonSwan put a lot of heart and soul into their work and do everything they can to ensure that you only meet serious singles on our site.
What are romance scammers and what does a typical scammer profile look like?
What are romance scammers?
Romance scammers, also known as love scammers, pose as singles on online dating sites and apps and manage to make their victims emotionally dependent on them—often without ever meeting them in person! It all starts innocently enough, with charming messages that make you want more. Soon, you're head over heels in love, and suddenly they urgently need to raise money. They usually make up some urgent business or family reason for this. The big promise to visit their love afterwards comes to nothing and contact is broken off.
What are the goals of online scammers?
The goal of romance scammers is to defraud their supposed victims of money. Once the money transfer is complete, the love scammers disappear and it's as if nothing ever happened.
What is the typical profile of a male scammer?
Male love scammers usually pretend to be engineers, architects, sociologists, designers in the oil industry, veterinarians, computer specialists, and US soldiers. The photos on the scammer's profile show an attractive person. However, the pictures are stolen. They come from Google image search or other image databases.
And even if the “new guy” claims to live in America or Germany, he is often based in another country. However, the victims don't notice this because these acquaintances speak perfect English or German. They often use translation tools for their emails.
This is what the typical profile of a female online scammer looks like
Female love scammers prefer to pretend to be nurses, doctors, orphanage workers, teachers, actresses, or businesswomen of all kinds. The women in the pictures, on social networks, and on dating sites are extremely attractive. But these pictures are also mostly stolen or have been photographed solely for the purpose of scamming. This can be recognized by photo series with similar poses and clothing.
Many women pretend to be from Eastern Europe. However, they may also claim to be from South America, Thailand, Africa, or Europe. They are also fluent in English, and sometimes even German—and perfectly so.
How can I expose love scammers?
6 clear warning signs
1. The language skills of romance scammers
Most romance scammers communicate in good English, but it becomes very noticeable when they write in broken German. Often it is so suspicious that the sentences sound like they were written by a poor translation program. But here too, scammers are becoming more creative and smarter. There are also many who write perfect German.
2. Provocative, unfamiliar pictures
Strikingly beautiful and provocative photos of women wearing revealing clothing can be a sign of a female scammer. Male romance scammers often appear in their photos wearing public service uniforms.
3. The content of the emails
Within a short time, you will receive long, detailed messages with declarations of love. These messages are often overly romantic, sometimes even written in a schmaltzy style. You need to be particularly careful here, because our bouncers cannot and are not allowed to view your chat history. Of course, there are other ways. Scammers often want to know everything about their victim in order to set certain triggers. Marriage plans are also made within a very short time.
4. Heartbreaking strokes of fate
Whether family problems or their own strokes of fate, scammers invent heartbreaking strokes of fate. The best example is the daughter with cancer who is in the hospital and needs money for an upcoming operation.
5. The love scammer demands money
One thing leads to another: first come the sad and emotional stories, and then you are asked to pay up. Please never transfer money! This warning sign is so clear that you are in contact with a scammer that you must act now. If you ever come into contact with someone like this, report the user to our bouncers immediately!
6. Is the scammer trying to move the conversation to another platform?
Is the other person trying to move the conversation to another platform such as WhatsApp, email, or similar? You should be careful here: the faster they try to do this, the more suspicious it is. Romance scammers often use phishing emails and viruses in their scams, which they send along with the message to steal your data. Stay safe with LemonSwan and do not share any data if you are unsure.
Safety when looking for a partner online: How to protect yourself from romance scammers
1. Block the contact
If you suspect that the person you are communicating with is a romance scammer, break off all contact immediately and report the user to our security team. If you have shared your email address or other data, be careful and consider creating a new email address.
2. Do not respond to any demands from the romance scammer
Please do not respond to any demands. Do not transfer any money or forward letters and packages—do not even keep them. If you have transferred money in the heat of the moment, try to reverse the transaction if it is still possible.
3. Report the incident to our security team
You have the option to report the alleged user in their profile. There are two ways to do this: you can report the user directly in the profile of your suggested match. The other option is in your message history, where you can also report the member immediately. The security team will deal with it immediately and examine the profile more closely.
Where are most romance scammers found?
Romance scammers are most commonly found on dating platforms without entry controls. Profiles can be created quickly and there is no one in the background to verify the authenticity of the person. On many casual dating sites, the likelihood of encountering romance scammers is greater.
Reputable online dating agencies such as LemonSwan have stricter entry controls. They pay more attention to data protection and the safety of their members.
Every applicant who wants to become a member of LemonSwan is individually checked by our gatekeepers. They pay particular attention to photos and profile details. If there is any indication of dubious intentions or a love scammer, they are not allowed on the platform in the first place. Clear rules ensure that romance scammers have a hard time getting onto our platform at all.
When it comes to chat histories, messages, etc., our gatekeepers rely on your help to ensure the safety of all users when searching for a partner online.
For data protection reasons, it is not permitted to check private message histories. For your own safety when searching for a partner online, you should always report any user you suspect of being a love scammer or having a dubious profile. This is the only way we can take a closer look at the profile and block the user.
Beware of scammers: use your common sense
Looking for a partner online can be very exciting. We understand that very well and will accompany you on your journey to happiness! Nevertheless, please trust your gut feeling and use your common sense.
There are many people who revel in the security of anonymity and fall in love without ever having met the other person face to face. The feeling of close intimacy tempts you to reveal more about yourself than may be desirable at that point in time.
That tingling feeling in your stomach is wonderful, but wait at least until the first date and get to know your counterpart in the real world.
Listen carefully to your inner voice: are there any characteristics that make you suspicious? Do you feel that the other person is not serious? Don't act rashly, but take your time. If he or she is really the one, then time will not matter.
People who are not serious usually jump ship when things don't move fast enough: romance scammers in particular.
A tip from our bouncers
Be mindful of your own safety when searching for a partner online. If you feel that a member has no serious intentions, report them! The member will be investigated immediately and, if the suspicion is confirmed, they will be blocked.
With all these tips in mind, nothing stands in your way of finding your Prince Charming or Princess Charming on LemonSwan. Someone who is truly serious about you and wants only the best for you, just like us.
Do you have any further questions about LemonSwan, your safety, or your profile? Then don't hesitate to contact our bouncers. We are always happy to help!
