The "bluff your way" guide to scam spotting.

[Wayne]

A chapter left out of "Hello Sweaty", as it didn't fit with the tone of it, but fits in perfectly here.

The "bluff your way" guide to scam spotting.

We like to claim to be experts, but the truth is that most of what we do is very easy and can be done by anyone after learning a few, very simple rules of thumb. Spotting scammers on dating sites can be incredibly easy. These tricks won't always work, but over 90% of scammers can be spotted immediately with this little bit of knowhow.

If you have an account there, do they give out their email address in their opening message, and do they try to disguise it? Usually scammers and cam girls do this. Scammers tend to simply leave spaces in their email address so it would look like:
amascammer@y ahoo.com
whereas cam girls go a different route. Theirs would look more like this:
camgirl(at)yahew dat cum
Also look for avatars that are scenery or flowers. They usually denote Senegal scammers. Watch for descriptions that repeat. Typically they look like this:
am a goodgirlam a good girlam a goodgirlam a goodgirlam a goodgirlam a goodgirl
Notice how they miss out the space at the end of the message before repeating it. They do this as often dating sites disallow profiles where sections haven't been filled in sufficiently. They get around it by simply repeating a small section until they have enough characters filled in.
Another telltale sign is if they message you and tell you that they have something important to tell you. Odds are it'll either be that they're stuck in a refugee camp in Senegal, or that they have millions of dollars hidden away and want you to help them get it shipped out of the country. See, so far so easy, right?

How about actively hunting for scammers? Again, there's a lot of simple ways to spot them in a search. Here are some examples from a dating site. I'll explain why I flag them as likely scammers after each one. The descriptions will end abruptly as the search page only shows the start of a person's description. That's all we need to spot the scammers however.


23 years old (Leo) / Female ( bi ) / United States
I am mirabel by name and also good looking girl who loves sports andrn Brought up from good oriented generous, relig

"By name", also using the word "and" to continue a sentence instead of starting a new one. Add to that the gargage about " Brought up from good oriented generous" and we can mark this one as a scammer.

20 years old (Taurus) / Female ( straight ) / Ivory Coast
I am a good looking and sincere girl that is caring and kind, I love reading and making friends.I also have every featur

You can't see this, but there's an avatar of a sunset next to their details. Without even reading the description I could tell they were a Senegal scammer.

24 years old (Capricorn) / Female ( straight ) / United States
i am a cool person who will like to meet with a good man for a good relationship

Another Senegal avatar, this time flowers. Also notice the word "cool" in the description. One more giveaway.

i am Jannie Williams from Minnesota about 5.8fit and i am fair in complexion,and single and looking for man that has God fearing,love trust and always be with me always making me happy
28 years old (Capricorn) / Female ( straight ) / United States
hello am jannie from minnesota,singlewith no child???I am looking for a man who takes his relationship with God neatly a

This one screams scammer. Not mentioning the avatar, which is of a porn model, we have a whole bunch of signs in the description. That darn "and" again, "am" instead of "I am", mention of God (even more obvious when they avatar is of a porn star) and the mention of "singlewith no child" make this one a sure scammer.





i want you to smile
46 years old (Capricorn) / Male (straight) / United States
I am Wayne Don Williams from Florida, a widower with a kid.i am 45yrs old and a chef and love to cook for my woman.i lo

"Widower with a kid" - enough said. I detest hearing them use that phrase.

i am a nice looking girl
24 years old (Pisces) / Female ( straight ) / United States
i am a nice looking girl

Same flower avatar as the other Senegal scammer, plus repeating themselves.

i love you all
24 years old (Libra) / Female ( straight ) / Denmark
wall i am janet and i am anice and good caring and kind girl.... wall i am janet and i am anice and good caring and kind .

Repeating again.

looking for my soul mate
27 years old (Pisces) / Female ( straight ) / United States
i am loving and caring i am loving and caringi am loving and caringi am loving and caringi am loving and caringi am lovi

Repeating again.

lat to love me
22 years old (Cancer) / Female ( bi ) / United States
lat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lovelat to lov

Repeating ag - oh you get the idea.


ask me later
21 years old (Sagittarius) / Female ( straight ) / United States
i am looking for a gentle person who can be gentle like me and make me know how to enjoy now life everytime and someone

Scenery avatar, so it'll be a Senegal scammer, plus another sign. Every time you see "ask me later" in the main part of a profile it should set off warning bells.
Get the idea? With very little practice you can spot the scammers a mile off on the dating sites from the small amount of data they put on their profiles. What about when they email you? How can you spot them then?

Headers. We drum into people how important headers are. Why? Because they reveal where a person really is. To make it easier, if they say they're in Africa or Malaysia then you can take them at their word. That won't be a lie even if everything else is. Quite simply, they have no reason to lie about being there. If they claim to be in the UK/USA or anywhere other than known scammer locations, then check the headers to see where they really are.

Pictures. Google image search and Tineye are huge helps here. Do they show up elsewhere? Then they're definitely scammers. If they don't, then it doesn't mean that they're not scammers. It simply means the pictures haven't been reported yet. Also, if you have an email from a Former Soviet Union (FSU) person, then there's an easy way to tell if they're Russian scammers or Ukrainian ones. Russians use photos of more "everyday" looking, good looking people. Ukrainians use model photos. If they look too good to be true, they're Russians. If they look way way way out of your league then they’re Ukrainians.

Words. "Am", "by name", "of my parents", "with a kid" or any other phrases that are known to be used by West African scammers should not be in the emails of people claiming to be in the USA. Fortysomethings do not describe themselves as "cool". This is more common sense than anything. Learn the way the scammers speak, and look out for it in the emails the scammers send.

Family. Senegal scammers always tell you about their poor late parent, and will let you know his name and job in the first description before letting you know how he was brutally murdered. A very easy sign to spot, this one.

Internet cafes. FSU scammers claim to use internet cafés, but in reality use their own computers. West African scammers claim to have their own computers but use internet cafés. Look out for email software when you check the headers of FSU scammers. No matter what they tell you, no internet café owner would let them install their own software on the machines, and no person would allow their emails to be on a public computer.

Well those are some basics to get you going. As I said, it's not difficult once you learn a few of the very simple ways to spot scammers.