How to spot extortion scams on LGBTQ+ dating apps

3 years ago 292

Looking for emotion connected LGBTQ+ dating apps? Scammers are astatine the acceptable too.

We’re proceeding astir scams targeting radical connected LGBTQ+ dating apps, similar Grindr and Feeld. And they aren’t your emblematic I-love-you, please-send-money romance scams. They’re extortion scams.

They usually enactment thing similar this: a scammer poses arsenic a imaginable romanticist spouse connected an LGBTQ+ dating app, chats with you, rapidly sends explicit photos, and asks for akin photos successful return. If you nonstop photos, the blackmail begins. They endanger to stock your speech and photos with your friends, family, oregon leader unless you wage — usually by gift card. To marque their threats much credible, these scammers volition archer you the names of precisely who they program to interaction if you don’t wage up. This is accusation scammers tin find online by utilizing your telephone fig oregon your societal media profile.

Other scammers endanger radical who are “closeted” oregon not yet afloat “out” arsenic LGBTQ+. They whitethorn unit you to wage up oregon beryllium outed, claiming they’ll “ruin your life” by exposing explicit photos oregon conversations.

Whatever their angle, they’re aft 1 happening — your money.

If you’re looking for emotion connected dating apps, present are immoderate ways to debar these scams:

Check retired who you’re talking to. Do a reverse representation hunt of the person’ illustration representation to spot if it’s associated with different sanction oregon with details that don’t lucifer up – those are signs of a scam.
Don’t stock idiosyncratic accusation with idiosyncratic you conscionable met connected a dating app. That includes your compartment telephone number, email address, and societal media profile.
Don’t wage scammers to destruct photos oregon conversations. There’s nary warrant they’ll bash it.

In fact, the FBI advises against paying extortion demands, which could enactment transgression activity.

And retrieve that, erstwhile you stock photos, you can’t instrumentality them back.

If you deliberation idiosyncratic is trying to extort you:

If you unrecorded successful the U.S. and idiosyncratic is utilizing your ain photos to extort you, telephone the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s crisis hotline: 844-878-CCRI (2274) for assistance oregon advice.

Are you nether 25 and looking to link with a counsellor astatine an LGBTQ+ enactment astir what happened? Reach retired to The Trevor Project. They person escaped counselors, disposable 24/7, who tin speech to you done their phone, chat and substance services.

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