In today's society, online dating is common. But what are the warning signs that you may be targeted by a scammer? Today's guest is Joe Eweka. Joe is a criminal justice professional, security management specialist, project management professional, and the author of the book Confessions of a Lonely Lover: An Exploration of Online Dating Scams.

Show Notes:

• [0:40] - Joe shares his background as originally from Nigeria and attending college and graduate school in criminal justice and law in the United States.
• [3:13] - Because of being long distance, Joe joined a social network to be able to better communicate with his brother and found himself in a scam.
• [5:16] - Catfishing is another term for romance scams and Joe says they are the most dangerous.
• [6:33] - One red flag is that the person you are speaking with tries to take your conversation off a dating app.
• [8:13] - Scammers lie a lot and work in teams. Sometimes you may catch inconsistencies.
• [9:00] - Watch the profile photo as well. If things look too good to be true, they probably are.
• [10:20] - Be suspicious if you cannot find anything at all about a person.
• [11:28] - Scammers often used borrowed text. Copy the suspicious text and paste it in a Google search.
• [13:06] - Scammers avoid video calls.
• [14:28] - Deep fake technology exists but is not commonplace in dating scams yet.
• [15:35] - Strange steps in the process like money orders, money transfers, and the purchase of several gift cards are major red flags.
• [16:34] - Do not accept friend requests from people you don't know on social media and never send money to them.
• [17:47] - Joe advises using a computer to check links because you can hover your cursor over it to see the URL before you click. You cannot do this on a phone.
• [18:50] - Don't assume that because you are the one to make the first contact that they are not a scammer.
• [20:03] - If you use a dating app, limit your communication to just the app.
• [22:10] - Do not rush and be sure to ask a lot of questions. Cut off all communication with anyone who seems suspicious.
• [23:30] - If you are meeting someone in person, you should always meet in a public place and with other people you know.
• [24:42] - Never go to another country to meet someone in person who you have never met before.
• [26:35] - Always report scammers.

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• Confessions of a Lonely Lover: An Exploration of Online Dating Scams by Joe Eweka