Tampa Bay Women Found Love Online – The Scam Cost Them Everything Many Tampa Bay women found love online. These women found a man they fell in love with, and paid the price with their life savings. What can you do to avoid a scam? Learn about the signs that your online dating experience may be a scam. Read on to learn how to avoid falling victim to these scams. You can also get real-time news alerts and free weekly newsletters from the Tampa Bay Herald.
Women Found Love Online
One such story is of a beautiful, intelligent Tampa Bay woman named Judy who fell in love with an incompetent, foreign paramilitary instructor named Robert. Robert was an instructor in the US military, specializing in anti-terrorism training, when he met Judy through an online dating site called Plenty of Fish. While Plenty of Fish has been plagued with bots and scams in recent years, Judy reacted quickly and sent Robert over $10,000 to help him transition out of his company.
Florida romance scam victims are estimated to lose a combined $40.1 million in 2020. FBI statistics on internet crimes aren’t complete, but the FBI breaks them down by state. Tampa FBI Agent Andrew Sekela says there were 232 reports of romance scams in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties last year, resulting in an average loss of $36,000 per victim. While this is a significant amount of money, it doesn’t mean that women shouldn’t try dating online.
Beware of romance scams
Beware of romance scams for Tampa Bay girls and women! Several crimes in the area involving online dating are known as romance scams. These crimes usually target women who are older, educated, and computer-savvy. Unfortunately, the victims are also emotionally vulnerable Tampa Bay Women Found Love Online, and the con artists know how to take advantage of them. They ask for money, post personal information, and request cash. In some cases, the victims are also asked to wire money or send money to other countries.
According to the FBI’s annual report on Internet crimes, romance scams are the most popular crime in the United States. More than 19 thousand people are reported victims every year. Most romance scams take place on online dating sites. The victims are usually asked to send money in exchange for trust. This is done with the false claim that they need the money for medical bills or traveling expenses. As a result, they lose all their money and end up losing everything!
Avoiding them
If you’ve been looking for love online in Tampa Bay, you may want to think twice before giving out any money. Online dating scams have become increasingly common in recent years. Victims can include young women as well as older people. For instance, in 2010, Debby Montgomery Johnson met a British businessman online. Her relationship with him developed slowly, and ultimately, she lost more than $1 million. Listen to our exclusive interview to find out how she fell victim to such a scam.
The FBI warns of online dating scams. The society of citizens against romance scams, based in Miami, has identified more than 8,000 Florida romance scam victims, with an estimated $40.1 million in losses. While Florida is not the top state for these scams, the average victim lost $36,000, which may not be enough to cover the losses. This statistic may seem shocking, but it is true: Almost four million Americans have lost money through these scams.
Tampa Bay Women Found Love Online – The Scam Cost
One Rochester woman recently lost everything after falling victim to a romance scam. After months of conversations on Google Hangouts, she was asked to send more than $57,000 to a man she never met. The scammer claimed to be Greek with a unique accent. He even sent her a signed mortgage settlement and photographs of plane tickets to Tampa. The woman was stunned to learn the relationship was a scam when she sent the money back.
Unless you’ve had experience dealing with scams, you should be aware of the warning signs. Be wary of untrustworthy profiles or scammers with untraceable email addresses. Look for those who route accounts through different locations around the world to disguise their identities. If they claim to be on a peacekeeping mission, that’s a red flag. Avoid such scammers at all costs and keep your wits about you.
0