WCYT

An online dating scam is when a scammer, male or female, creates a false personal profile and makes contact with you via an online dating agency or even a specialised chat room. The scammer says that they are seeking romance or a soul mate but are really out to steal not only your heart but your cash too.

Taking advantage
Scammers can sign up to online dating agencies or chat rooms just like anyone else. Many online dating sites allow anyone to join for free, and they usually do not screen their members. Scammers take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to create the profile of your perfect match and make any number of promises to attract you and cause you to let your defences down.

How do I know it is a scam?
The scammer will ask for your money! This will not happen immediately - however, before long the scammer will ask for financial help for any number of reasons. Almost always, they will ask you to send money using an untraceable source such as a telegraphic money transfer. Some of the most common reasons they give for why they need your help include:

I want to meet you but I don't have enough money to travel to see you
I have been robbed and beaten, I require urgent surgery or treatment for a serious illness or me or my family member has been a victim of a serious or fatal accident and you are the only person who can help 
I am stranded abroad and I don't have money for travel or visa costs.

Other signs are:
Your new date looks like a model - this is probably because the scammer has used a magazine picture.
Your new date only gives you a post office address and/or a phone number which he or she never answers and which does not have voicemail.
Your date talks a lot about herself or himself and does not answer your questions - probably because they are sending standard emails to hundreds of people.

What can I do to protect myself?
Only use a reputable online dating or chat service and follow the basic safety tips for online dating Be sceptical and ask yourself simple questions, for example; 'why am I the only person who can help them, when I have just met them?' Test your date - ask them lots of questions, try to phone them or post them something or possibly suggest meeting them. If all attempts fail, you are probably dealing with a scammer.

What can I do if I have already lost money?
If you have already sent money there is little chance of you ever recovering it.

Con artists are using internet dating sites to trick lonely people into handing over thousands of pounds, police have warned.

The fraudsters sign up to websites including datingdirect.com and seniordating.com and start emailing their victims, pretending they are looking for love and are interested in a relationship.

But all they really want is money, peddling stories of hardship or the need for cash to start a new life in the UK.

Two women, aged 49 and 61, from Southampton, have been conned out of £18,000 in the last two months. Three other Hampshire women have also lost significant amounts of cash.

They include a 58-year-old Winchester woman, who was duped out of £24,000, and a 62-year-old New Forest woman, who was conned out of £4,000. A Farnborough woman also fell victim to the scam.

Civilian investigator Phil McAleer, from Southampton Central police station, said: "The Southampton women have been conned out of significant amounts of cash, thinking that the person they are emailing is interested in forging a relationship and is in genuine need.

"One of the women was told by the man emailing her that he was falsely imprisoned on drugs charges and needs money to be released.

"They are then given a name and told to wire the money to Ghana via Western Union or Moneygram.

"These scammers prey on vulnerable people looking for love. I'd ask anyone using internet dating sites who is asked to part with large sums of money to be very cautious.

"Remember, you rarely get anything for nothing. These cons are costing people huge amounts of cash and there is no audit trail when money is wired to people in this way, so victims have very little chance of getting their money back."