Virtual Heartbreak

The New York Times ran a story on July 17, 2015 on how scammers are targeting older individuals on internet dating sites. Swindlers Target Older Women on Dating Websites tells the stories of several elders who ended up sending significant sums of money to scammers who had developed virtual relationships with these elders.  This high-tech version of the “romance con” has resulted in the legislature in at least one state, Vermont, to consider “pass[ing] a law requiring online dating sites to notify members quickly when there is suspicious activity on their accounts or when another member has been barred on suspicion of financial fraud.” As well, the story explains, the proliferation of the virtual version of the romance con was the impetus for action from AARP.

Despite warnings, the digital version of the romance con is now sufficiently widespread that AARP’s Fraud Watch Network in June urged online dating sites to institute more safeguards to protect against such fraud. The safeguards it suggests include using computer algorithms to detect suspicious language patterns, searching for fake profiles, alerting members who have been in contact with someone using a fake profile and providing more education so members are aware of romance cons.

The AARP network recommends that from the beginning, dating site members use Google’s “search by image” to see if the suitor’s picture appears on other sites with different names. If an email from “a potential suitor seems suspicious, cut and paste it into Google and see if the words pop up on any romance scam sites,” the network advised.

On AARP’s site, individuals can learn more about these digital romance cons, sign an on-line petition to dating sites to adopt safety measures, and learn 10 tips on how to spot a romance scammer and 5 tips to protect oneself from this “virtual heartbreak”.