Lisa
At one point in my somewhat disastrous online dating experience, I became so good at sussing out scammers that one site asked me to vet suspicious profiles.
Here’s some other clues that not all is legit on line.
1. Too good looking. GQ dudes do not need to be online as they have plenty of options IRL. Folk in any area tend to be in a narrow range as to looks, weight, income level, education,etc and, online, most folks are pretty average.
2. Someone unusually successful in a rural or economically depressed region. Small towns tend to harbor few, if any, high end professionals. Internationally renowned architects don’t live in the hinterlands full time for instance. Lots of these folk know nothing about the towns they ostensibly reside in; they consulted a map and picked a town somewhere near you.
3. Seriously “out there” Christian in a region where that is not the norm. These dudes often had missionary or other church-based basic educations and refer to God a lot because they think all Americans are Christian. Hope I don’t offend anyone, but ski resort towns in particular and more liberal cities have few hard core Christians.
4. Compliments that are unusual. One instance was when a guy complimented me on having the teeth of a teenager. Most Americans have some access to dental care but good teeth are a rarity and noteworthy in much of the developing world.
Overall, online, you are going to, like it or not, attract a certain sort of dude. I myself have for now bailed on dating because rural, enviro, PhDs of color are undesirable which meant I got a good many totally incompatible guys lacking options in their home city. Most of us are going to have to deal with the waifs and strays of the dating world. Serious outliers for your region should be a red flag. If he is too good to be true, beware.
October 7, 2019 at 11:31 am
Lisa
Noquay…thanks for sharing your experiences. Really appreciate it!
September 26, 2019 at 9:24 am
Jean F
Many scammers can be discovered before making any contact with them. How? Copy a sentence from the middle of their profile. Go to Google and search on that sentence (with quotes around it). If the search results come up with many profiles using the same sentence, the profile was copied from someone else. Sometimes this test will even have the sentence showing up as a known scammer. Just delete them and move on.
September 26, 2019 at 9:29 am
Lisa
Awesome tip Jean. Thank you for sharing it. xoxoxo
September 25, 2019 at 10:06 pm
Maggie W
I can attest first-hand that your advice and comments are spot on. My first, second, and third experiences with on-line dating were with cat-fishers. I learned a lot, but could have saved precious time if I had such a precious resource as you available.
September 26, 2019 at 8:56 am
Lisa
Maggie…I hope you’ll use this guide to keep you safe in the future. Big hugs~
I so wish I had read this four years ago. Only now, do I KNOW this, and am finally recognizing scammers. Early on I was taken and sent money, money, money. So sad…
September 25, 2019 at 6:03 pm
Lisa
I’m so sorry you had to experience this. Know that you’re not alone. It’s happened to lots of men and women. Now you have the red flags to look for. Also getting clarity on what you want in a man would help you filter men as well. Sending you lots of hugs~
October 3, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Noquay
Lisa
At one point in my somewhat disastrous online dating experience, I became so good at sussing out scammers that one site asked me to vet suspicious profiles.
Here’s some other clues that not all is legit on line.
1. Too good looking. GQ dudes do not need to be online as they have plenty of options IRL. Folk in any area tend to be in a narrow range as to looks, weight, income level, education,etc and, online, most folks are pretty average.
2. Someone unusually successful in a rural or economically depressed region. Small towns tend to harbor few, if any, high end professionals. Internationally renowned architects don’t live in the hinterlands full time for instance. Lots of these folk know nothing about the towns they ostensibly reside in; they consulted a map and picked a town somewhere near you.
3. Seriously “out there” Christian in a region where that is not the norm. These dudes often had missionary or other church-based basic educations and refer to God a lot because they think all Americans are Christian. Hope I don’t offend anyone, but ski resort towns in particular and more liberal cities have few hard core Christians.
4. Compliments that are unusual. One instance was when a guy complimented me on having the teeth of a teenager. Most Americans have some access to dental care but good teeth are a rarity and noteworthy in much of the developing world.
Overall, online, you are going to, like it or not, attract a certain sort of dude. I myself have for now bailed on dating because rural, enviro, PhDs of color are undesirable which meant I got a good many totally incompatible guys lacking options in their home city. Most of us are going to have to deal with the waifs and strays of the dating world. Serious outliers for your region should be a red flag. If he is too good to be true, beware.
October 7, 2019 at 11:31 am
Lisa
Noquay…thanks for sharing your experiences. Really appreciate it!
September 26, 2019 at 9:24 am
Jean F
Many scammers can be discovered before making any contact with them. How? Copy a sentence from the middle of their profile. Go to Google and search on that sentence (with quotes around it). If the search results come up with many profiles using the same sentence, the profile was copied from someone else. Sometimes this test will even have the sentence showing up as a known scammer. Just delete them and move on.
September 26, 2019 at 9:29 am
Lisa
Awesome tip Jean. Thank you for sharing it. xoxoxo
September 25, 2019 at 10:06 pm
Maggie W
I can attest first-hand that your advice and comments are spot on. My first, second, and third experiences with on-line dating were with cat-fishers. I learned a lot, but could have saved precious time if I had such a precious resource as you available.
September 26, 2019 at 8:56 am
Lisa
Maggie…I hope you’ll use this guide to keep you safe in the future. Big hugs~
September 25, 2019 at 5:36 pm
Miss Downing
I so wish I had read this four years ago. Only now, do I KNOW this, and am finally recognizing scammers. Early on I was taken and sent money, money, money. So sad…
September 25, 2019 at 6:03 pm
Lisa
I’m so sorry you had to experience this. Know that you’re not alone. It’s happened to lots of men and women. Now you have the red flags to look for. Also getting clarity on what you want in a man would help you filter men as well. Sending you lots of hugs~