Beware the Cleavage

Things like These can get a guy into trouble AKA "The Cleavage."

There is an old saying that "a fool and his money are soon parted." This is true, especially of phishing.  Lately phishers (those who use Internet tactics to scam people out of their money) are resorting to more that just spam email. As people catch on to email scams the phishers have to think up new lures in order to keep up their low life business.

Another tactic that has entered the scene is Internet dating sites.  Common Internet dating sites are an opportunity for men and women to meet up and find friends or even a relationship. But phishers are aware of this and so they set up accounts on these sites to lure men and women into the net.

Like any good fisherman the phishers know that the bait or lure must be targeted at a certain prey. They must be patient, cool, and "act" like their motivations are different from what they really are.

Now from a man's point of view I am writing this, so ladies sorry if this doesn't sound written for you too, but I am a straight man. But the basic information is the same.

Sex sells. The way this new scam works is that phishers set up accounts on dating sites that have high traffic. They try to look legitimate men or women wanting to hang out, date, chat, etc.

They are always good looking in their pictures and have an attractive profile. The profile may be too perfect in their description of themselves. Grammar and punctuation are usually very good in the profile as well.

When they are online they will start off saying the normal stuff such as  "hi" or "how are you?"  They will then usually start up a conversation and seem interested in you. They will compliment you as handsome or beautiful and say they are seeking a soul mate.

After one to three chats they will want to go off the dating site to an IM such as Yahoo!, Google, or Microsoft.  There they continue the chat. Soon words like "babe" and "hunny" are your title.

After a few conversations the storyline enters. He or she will want to trade pictures, common on the net in dating sites or IMs.  They will exchange pictures with you. They will continue the conversation. At some point when they have your attention, hormones, or emotions hooked in comes the standard lines. "I have an inheritance in Nigeria and I need you to send money to my attorney because I am short on funds, can you help?"

If resistance is put up they will play on your emotions with "trust" and "love" stuff to try to soften you up. Then again they will step it up with the line and start asking for personal bank and account information. If resistance is again put up they will use a guilt trip to soften you up or say "you don't love and/or trust me. I want honesty."

The hope of the phisher is that he/she will get into your wallet through your heart or libido and then siphon off your money or even just your ID.

The truth is there is no honesty in these people. You are the account and they are working you. Once they have what they want they steal it and move on.

Signs I have learned to watch out for through experience.

1. In their online communications they will have bad English grammar. They misspell words, use verb tenses wrong, and talk somewhat naively.

2. They will send you sexy pictures. They may even try sexting you.

3. They start calling you romantic names way before it would be appropriate in any relationship to do so. They don't even know you, how can they love you?

4. They use the words "honesty" and "trust" to play to your morals.

5. They contradict themselves in their story. People telling the truth about themselves on or offline don't have this problem generally. A made up fiction story will have contradictions in life story, jobs, money, occupation and education.

6. If you try to help in any other way they will refuse.

7. They will avoid web camera chats with you or calling you and use every excuse in the book to stay anonymous. If they do use a web cam or talk with you be careful. Is the person real on the other end of the phone or line.

8. Distance is their best friend. Physical proximity means you can meet up with them. They want you far away so they can scam you. Close is really far away.

9. They make statements about wanting to be with you over and over.

10. Their phishing stories may change altogether.

11. When confronted they become defensive or vague.

12. They want you to send money out of the country to Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, etc.

This is just a summary list of what they will do. They also get US phone numbers to appear legit. But many of these numbers are only domestic in appearance and the scammer may or may not be present in the United States or your country.

The hope is that with time, persistence, and energy they will part you of your money either through you sending it via electronic carrier or more likely through getting your account information.  These scum prey on people on dating sites because many people there are emotionally vulnerable due to being divorced, older and single, and thus it is easier to get their target to make stupid decisions.

To protect yourself other than the warning signs listed above also ask them challenging questions related to their stories, occupations, where they come from, and motives.  I can't over emphasize broken English, written or spoken. They are lousy off script because they either know what they are talking about or they don't.  I talked to one lady claimed she was a nurse. I asked her questions about medical procedures. She took a long time to respond, and several responses were inappropriate for her claimed occupation.  Facebook accounts may be used to verify them. But on Facebook look for high activity. High activity means the account is in use and is most likely legit.

Fake Facebook accounts set up by phishers have low friends, low amounts of pictures, and low activity on posting status updates.  This should raise a red flag.  They always want to text. They always want to know about your money, income, status, etc.

Real people seeking you out don't ask for money or personal information that would be inappropriate such as your address and social security number. That is bad taste and bad etiquette. But phishers have none. I told one to get a job and it was excuses or defensiveness that gave her away.

I told another she had to get into my mind and that a sexy picture just wasn't enough to override my common sense.

The picture of there is a cross section of an actual scammer that tried to reel me in with her boobs. Sorry HONEY won't fly! Nice rack there, but not enough to get my information.

With ID theft on the rise and vulnerable populations out there it is important that when on the Internet if something seems out of the norm, chances are it most likely is. Protect yourself from the phishers. Every dating site has it's scammers of various types. Beware of them and the warning signs.

They will not only cost you money, but time, cell phone minutes, and opportunity. Lesson learned so I thought I would pass it along to you if you read this. You are not a stooge if you don't help them. These are like fake homeless people that frequent Walmart parking lots with cardboard signs, only on the internet and they, unlike the panhandler are trying to get more than your money, they want inappropriate access to your funds. If a true friend has a problem he/she may ask for help or money, but not your bank account.

So good luck out there in the dating world in finding someone. Just don't get caught on the phisher's hook.