Asking for confidentiality
The first thing every conman will try to do is to keep your budding “romance” a secret between the two of you. They don’t make this obvious, of course, they use very subtle tricks to encourage you not to tell anyone. After all, if you tell your family and friends about your developing relationship, they may spot the ominous signs that you don’t because of the pink mist.
Telling a sad story about yourself
This is to win your sympathy and pity. Most of the time, scammers pretend that a loved one has died of cancer or some other terrible disease. But they also tend to match their story to yours. If you’ve lost a family member to cancer, for example, they’re likely to come up with a similar story. And that’s just one of the empathy-absorbing tricks…
Working abroad, travelling a lot
Of course, not everyone who travels abroad a lot for work is a cheater, but if there are other warning signs about him, it’s a good idea to be wary of him. Fraudsters often claim to work far away or have a job that involves a lot of travel. They often call themselves businessmen, soldiers serving abroad, or engineers working on ships or oil rigs.
Interested in your finances
It’s good if your date is interested in you, but when they want to know too much about your financial situation, your finances, the alarm bells should go off in your head. Scammers can tell if you’re a good target by asking innocent questions, such as whether you own a house, a car or how much you earn. If they find out they can rip you off, they’ll try to manipulate you even more.
Asking you for money
One of the most serious warning signs is definitely when someone you are just getting to know suddenly asks you for money because something dramatic has happened to them and they need money urgently. Scammers often lie about not being able to access their bank account from abroad, or having all their money and credit cards stolen. It is also common for them to borrow small amounts at first, and then increasingly larger amounts.
Excessive emotions
Fraudsters know that they can sweep their unsuspecting victims off their feet by conveying exaggerated but false emotions. For example, after only a short introduction, they may tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened to them, the love of their life, and that they can’t live without you. And of course they spice it up with romantic emojis to make you melt even more. Unfortunately, if they can blind you with this, you will not only suffer financially from this scam, but emotionally too.
Becoming an intruder
If the scammer can smell that you are suspicious because you ask too many questions or refuse to send him money, he will become even more pushy and try to appeal to your emotions even more, even blackmail you emotionally. This signals his desperation, and for you, if you haven’t broken off the relationship with him before, you should do it now as a matter of urgency.
