Romantic fraud in Canada
As March is Fraud Awareness Month, this month-long campaign is geared towards educating Canadians on fraud and how to protect themselves. Numbers show that over $10 million has already been lost to various types of fraud in Canada between January 1 - January 31, 2021 according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
The Government of Canada has also reported that Canadians have lost more than $18 Million in 2020 to romance scams.
Due to the pandemic, singles are at home limiting their ability to meet people and they are still looking for love. There is an increase of people who have never used online dating apps or websites before signing up and it is expected that these numbers will only increase as the pandemic continues.
Take note that fraud comes in all forms such as online, phone calls, door to door. Do your due diligence before handing over your hard earned cash to anyone. Online dating fraud or ‘romance’ scams are the most popular form of fraud in Canada. Protect your personal information even more so than before when searching for love.
Dating apps and dating websites make it easy to meet someone and easy for someone to take advantage of. The convenience of people being able to connect anytime and anywhere allows us to put our guards down and trusting other’s intentions to fast.
Scammers will use catphising as a way to get you into a relationship. Catphishing is where individuals fabricates or steals an identity to form a fake romantic relationship for financial gain. There are ways to avoid romance scams, below are some red flags.
Never send money to anyone you have not met or do not know
If they ask for money right away, walk away
If the person will not meet in person, red flag
The person says ‘I love you’ very soon into the relationship, you have never met or seen them, red flag
If they ask you to move communication to a more private or different mode, red flag
Poorly written communication
They try to create distance between you and your friends and family
Krystal Walter Matchmaking has an extensive on boarding process that allows clients to have peace of mind that they will be matched with quality individuals. Krystal’s matchmaking services reduces the incidence of fraud by cutting out the uncertainty and impersonal nature that surrounds online dating. Krystal meets with all clients, she gets to know them, their values, all while evaluating their lifestyle to ensure they are a great fit.
If you are done with the risk that online dating can bring, contact Krystal for a consultation. When joining Krystal you are entering a higher quality dating pool and the comfort of knowing the vetting process has been already been done for you.
