I know people who have met on online dating sites and had happy and long lasting relationships but you need to be very cautious. There are a lot of romance scammers and players out there, hunting for unsuspecting prey.
I have heard of many different ruses Scammers use to try to get their victim to send them money - and there’s also the “control freak” types who actually want to have a real-life relationship with their victim and take over their assets that way - and the “romance players” who want extra-marital flings but pretend to be single, which can take an emotional toll on their unsuspecting victims.
It’s a bit of a minefield out there, so you need to keep your wits about you and take notice of any red flags.
I watched a very disturbing documentary last night about a large commercial scamming operation, which is known as the “Pig-Butchering Romance Scam”
It was horrifying to watch - with interviews with a former worker in the pig-butchering scam and a victim of it.
'Pig butchering': Former romance scammer reveals tactics
In recent years, people around the world have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to online romance scams.
One of the most lucrative of these, being run by criminal gangs across South East Asia, is called the “pig butchering romance scam”.
The scammers refer to their victims as pigs, whom they fatten up to be "butchered" - or conned, out of as much money as possible.
A BBC World Service investigation has spoken to former insiders, who reveal the brutal conditions facing many of those working as scammers and the sophisticated techniques that are used.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-64884036
www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Pig-bu...ing-you-need-to-know