Now cybercriminals are targeting dating platforms to take advantage of lovebirds online.
Cybercrime experts warn of the rise of a new type of scam threatening people using dating platforms online in the style of Tinder and Bumble.
The way of working is always the same: Someone you have met on the internet and have been chatting with for weeks or months is hinting that they have made a lot of money investing in a certain cryptocurrency.
The exchange of messages quickly turns into bitcoin investment advice, and the victim is left with nothing after transferring their savings to a professional-looking cryptocurrency investment website.
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There are more and more reports of cases of people scammed when sending money to fake exchange platforms as a result of catfishing, in which criminals assume a false digital identity to fake a romantic interest online and scam someone.
Germany recently reported the case of a 26-year-old user from the vicinity of the Bavarian city of Augsburg, who was scammed out of around 100,000 euros (approximately $ 113,000) through a contact on a dating platform online.
According to the German Police, the user had been chatting with a woman from abroad since early 2021 using a dating app.
After a while, officials said, this convinced him to invest in cryptocurrencies on a certain online trading platform. As the value of cryptocurrencies increased, the victim also doubled their investments.
When he finally wanted the winnings paid, the user realized they had been scammed and filed a report at the end of November. You will likely never see the money again, as cryptocurrencies are designed to be anonymous.
According to experts who advise victims of cybercrime, most scams catfishing consist of the offender faking a romantic interest for a certain time And then you argue that you need money for airline tickets or medical bills.
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The new scams of catfishing with cryptocurrencies they are different. “In the new model, criminals pose as wealthy people or financial experts who have made a lot of money through investments, often in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin,” writes the non-profit organization The Cyber Helpline on its website. advice.
In general, one should be on the alert if someone you don’t know in person offers advice on investing in bitcoins.
On the other hand, this new modality of catfishing With cryptocurrencies it is even easier for criminals due to the many stories in the media of people making fortunes investing in novel cryptocurrencies.
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“I have been scammed with bitcoins,” claims a victim on The Cyber Helpline. “I was contacted by someone on a dating website who was actively encouraging me to use a certain change that now it turns out to have been completely false and for the purpose of fraud”.
If a person who only meets on the Internet suggests making financial investments, it is recommended to first find out if they are not lying about their identity by doing a reverse image search of any photos they have shared.
To do this, simply upload a photo to images.google.com and there you will see if the photo is also used on other sites, which may indicate that the identity of that person has been manipulated.
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
