They might have some kind of outlandish tale about how they entered their profession, or became extravagantly wealthy. If you’ve been dating in person for a while, pay attention to their body language and tone when you ask them about themselves. If it feels like they’re lying, they probably are. If they reached out online outside of a dating site, ask them why. They should have a very concrete, intuitive reason to have reached out in the first place. If their online dating profile talks about how they’re a 21-year-old multi-millionaire who spends their summers sailing the world on their yacht, they may be a con artist.
This is less of a red flag if you’ve just started talking to someone online. If you just started talking to someone on Tinder, it’s pretty reasonable that they wouldn’t be sharing a ton of deeply personal information. They should still be interested in sharing what they do for work, school, or in their spare time, though!
If they’re always bragging about how good things are going and they never seem to have a bad day, it’s a sign that they’re not being honest. If you read their online dating profile and it mentions anything about being a wealthy business owner, famous artist, or anything like that, look them up online. There should be some news or information somewhere online that demonstrates they’re telling the truth.
If they reached out online, they may even refuse to meet in person, or claim that they can’t meet because they’re working on an oil rig or on some military base. [5] X Trustworthy Source Federal Trade Commission Website with up-to-date information for consumers from the Federal Trade Commisson Go to source
Don’t be fooled by fancy clothes or jewelry. There are plenty of good designer knockoffs out there. If their fancy car is always “in the shop” or that mansion always seems to under repair or fumigation, they’re probably pulling one over on you. Do not trust anyone telling you that they’re wealthy if you met them online without verifying it elsewhere via news. Anyone can type that they’re wealthy (or photoshop themselves in a fancy car).
If you’re talking to someone you met online, try reverse image searching their photos to see if they pop up elsewhere. People who catfish others online typically use other people’s photos. [8] X Research source
Think about your daily life. You may have work or school keeping you partially busy throughout the day, but you always get back to people when you have a minute, right? If the person you’re dating isn’t like that, it’s a sign they don’t have normal responsibilities. Pay attention to when they respond online. If they claim they’re from your area but they never seem to respond when you’re awake, they may be lying about the time zone they’re in.
If you’re dating someone you met online, they may make plans to meet up in person and then cancel at the last minute because of some emergency. If this happens more than once, you should be extremely suspicious.
Don’t give them any information someone would need to fill out an application for a job, bank account, or credit card. If they ask to share or link accounts of any kind, it’s a huge red flag. If this relationship started online and they send you a suspicious link, they may be phishing for your information. Phishing scams rely on people clicking malicious links to lock your computer or steal your info.
If the two of you haven’t been talking for all that long, they shouldn’t be trying to pry all that deep. Think about the kind of questions you ask when you’re getting to know someone. If they’re going way beyond that, it can be a reason to be suspicious.
Try searching for their name online and see what you can find. Add “+location” to the search (putting their city or state in where “location” goes) to see what you can find. If they have zero digital footprint outside of social media, they may be lying about who they are.
A healthy relationship should make you happy. At the same time, you want to be a little suspicious if you’re feeling too happy and the two of you haven’t spent any time together, it could be cause for concern. For example, one minute they might be talking about what kind of a wedding they’d want and you might feel yourself falling for this person and daydreaming with them. [15] X Research source The next minute, they might talk about going on a long trip and leaving you, which might have you spiraling into feelings of fear or jealousy. [16] X Research source
Do not blame yourself if you realize that you’ve been a victim of a con artist. Con artists are very adept at what they do, and it is not your fault that somebody took advantage of you for wanting to do the right thing.
