While the pandemic continuously limits our ability to meet in person, online dating scams are rising in popularity. Digital Privacy experts at CoverMe provide tips for avoid falling victim to cyber romance scams.
San Jose, CA, June 05, 2021 - According to the FTC, over the past three years, people have reported losing more money on romance scams than any other fraud type. Besides, in 2020, reported losses to romance scams reached a record $304 million, up about 50% from 2019.
Research and data from Pew Research also verified the realistic predicament of people looking for romantic connections on online dating platforms. About three-in-ten or more online dating users say someone continued to contact them on a dating site or app after they said they were not interested (37%). About one-in-ten (9%) say another user has threatened to physically harm them. These rates are even higher among younger women.
An obvious reason that the past year witnessed record loss caused by romance scams seems to be that the pandemic limited people from meeting in person and forced them to reach out online, as people naturally rely on connections to ease feelings of isolation, especially in the lockdown scenario. Also, the trend of digital transition in personal lives has leveraged the rapid growth of online dating sites and apps even before the pandemic. While the ability to meet someone and establish connections virtually has allowed for great flexibility and convenience, it has also exposed users to a range of cybersecurity risks.
“Romance scams can be incredibly convincing. They are trying to steal money and personal information through manipulation of victim’s emotions,” says Kim Lenard, a digital privacy expert at CoverMe. “To avoid online dating scams, there are some basic rules to keep in mind before and during the whole process of online dating.”
Digital Privacy experts at CoverMe provides the following tips for people to consider when using dating sites and social media to meet people:
Do your research. Google and other search engines will allow you to search for the personal details someone has provided, even back-searching a photo they provide to see if it is a stock image or if it has been used under someone else’s account before.
Video chat before your date. It’s much harder for someone to pretend to be someone they aren’t if they have to come on video. Never meet someone unless you’ve had a video chat with them.
Never meet at your home. Whether that’s the offering to pick you up from your house in the car, or inviting them over for dinner, never allow someone you have never met before to know where you live. Always meet them in a public place with lots of people around, and bring your own mode of transport so you can leave whenever you like.
Cautiously give out your real number. You can use a second number that CoverMe gives you to make calls to others before you confirm their identity. CoverMe is a free downloadable app available for iPhones and Androids that provides multiple disposable numbers for you to sign up to dating websites without ever having to give out your real phone number. It also has a secure, encrypted messaging service so you can communicate with people anonymously and with military-grade protection.
For the secret number app for online dating, and more information about staying safe while online dating, please download the CoverMe app or visit http://www.coverme.ws.
About CoverMe
CoverMe was founded in 2012 in San Jose, California. CoverMe is dedicated to offering mobile security for all smartphone users. CoverMe develops mobile apps and cloud services to enhance the privacy and security of smartphone users and to protect private information stored on smartphones. For more information, please visit http://www.coverme.ws.
Contact Information
CoverMe, Inc.
Roger Johnson
1-669-209-0123
http://www.coverme.ws/en/index.html
