Technology has basically taken over the world. You check your phone every chance you get, you use the internet to work or even find a job, and you make profiles on dating websites to find love! What you may not know is that making a profile on a dating site may can cause you to be part of a Malaysian romance scam, and that’s something you need to be prepared for.
The most common issues you’ll have, other than a few failed dates, are Malaysian romance scammers. They are ruthless, heartless, and know no boundaries when it comes to their victims. They don’t care if you’re depressed, disabled or recently divorced; as a matter of fact, you are their ideal target if you fit any of that criteria! Today, we will be discussing some of the most popular Malaysian romance scams, how to identify them and how to avoid them. Here is everything you need to know listed below!
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Discussing Malaysian Romance Scams
Most Malaysian dating scammers never reveal that they’re actually thousands of miles away in a different continent– they usually lead on that they are in the United States. Not only that, they will also fabricate backstories, such as recently losing a spouse, gaining medical debt, or some other financial turmoil they seem to have gotten themselves into.
Unfortunately, it’s usually a few thousand dollars too late by the time the victim finds out that they are being scammed. There are many ways that you can still have a pleasant dating experience without losing your life’s savings, just as long as you know what to look out for and what to do if you happen to fall victim to these con artists!
Why Romance Scams Happen From Malaysia
Although Malaysia is not considered an underdeveloped country, there are still parts of it that definitely aren’t the richest. Most of the country is highly developed with all of today’s necessities, such as running water, uninterrupted electricity, and even cable and wifi.
Regardless, some of the people that live in this country feel the need to scam innocent victims out of their money, by basically seducing them and making them feel guilty, in hopes that they will send them money to assist with any false financial problems they claim to be facing. There really isn’t one true reason that one would con another out of their money; usually people will do it out of desperation, or for a larger “company” that’s known for scamming people out of thousands.
Need To Knows
The main thing that you need to know about Malaysian romance scams is that they happen all too often, and no one is exempt from them. Most of the time, you would normally be able to weed out the scammers due to their poor English, obviously fake profiles and the immediate profession of their love for you after just a few short conversations between you. Not everyone is technologically inclined to the point where they can know exactly what to look out for, such as elderly folks and people who live in rural areas like farmers. They fall under the category of the most likely to be scammed out of their hard-earned cash!
How Do Malayasian Romance Scams Work
Usually, the scammer will send you a message, telling you how handsome or beautiful you are, reeling you in for a conversation. If their English is good enough, you won’t even notice that they are from a different country, so they may be able to get away with telling you that they are a U.S. citizen. A lot of these scammers will claim to be successful businessmen/women, doctors, lawyers, or some other sort of high-paying occupation to give off the illusion that they have the money to “pay you back”.
In reality, you’re likely talking to some middle-aged man sitting in a tiny room on his computer, with nothing better to do than coax you into sending him money. He may wait weeks, months, or even years before actually asking for financial assistance, which just proves their resilience through all of this– but most of the time, if they see a relationship has been established, they will waste no time asking you for your money for whatever reason. They will reassure you that you will get your money back, although you’ll likely never see it again, as it is not much you can do once you’ve transferred money overseas.
The Most Popular Type Of Malaysia Dating Scam
It starts out with a message, complimenting you in some way. You’ll respond, and they’ll give you some sob story as to how they found themselves in financial debt, such as medical bills from some life saving surgery or the loss of a spouse and having to pay for funeral expenses.
Eventually, you may find yourself in an online relationship with this person that you have never met. He/she is likely posing as a beautiful woman or a strikingly handsome man, leaving you under the impression that you are talking to the actual person from their photos! After softening you up with all of their lies, making you feel sorry for them, they will start to need some sort of financing in order to get themselves out of their imaginary debt, or even to afford a plane ticket to come and see you!
Over time they will do whatever it takes to get as much out of you as they can. They may need you to send them a phone in order to stay in contact with you while they’re on the road, or maybe even a gift card if you aren’t comfortable sending money. There are so many ways that these con artists can try and take your money from you, so you should never trust anyone who asks you for your money!
Other Romance Scams
The less popular scams still happen more often than not, such as someone posing as a famous person or political figure, which is more likely to fool an elderly person or someone who isn’t the best with technology to be able to tell the difference.
Another not-so-common yet possible scam would be the scammer claiming that their life is in danger and that they need to escape an abusive or life-threatening situation, creating an urgency to get paid, hoping to nudge you into funding them even quicker due to the circumstances. Some will fall for it, but others will not; it really just depends on the naivety of the victim and if they believe the scammer or not!
Are You At Risk For Being Scammed?
Personally, I feel as though anyone who is on a dating site is at risk for being scammed. If you are careful and mindful of what types of people and situations to avoid, then you should be in the clear to use Malaysian dating sites at your leisure! It’s not difficult to keep yourself out of situations such as these, so just be wary of any sketchy people that may be in your inbox.
For example, a woman named Georgina in the U.S. fell for a scammer who claimed to be a serviceman on duty in Afghanistan, when in fact he was nothing but a con artist! He fooled her into thinking that he had lost his wife to cancer, which touched Georgina’s heart as she had faced a similar situation caring for her husband who had died of cancer. He lied to her, saying he wanted to set up a jewelry store when he retired. He claimed that he was having trouble with his bank card, and that was preventing him from coming to see her.
She ended up transferring his $15,000, but she truly believed he was an upstanding citizen, being that he claimed to be a good and honest serviceman. She had hoped they would spend their lives together, but alas, she was yet another victim to these merciless con artists.
What To Look Out For With Online Malaysian Dating
Some of the warning signs that you are being scammed can be pretty easy to catch. One of the main ones is poor or broken English. If you encounter someone on a dating site that almost makes no sense with their sentence structure and spelling, that can be a red flag. Another big one is to pay attention to their profile pictures; if it looks fake, then it probably is.
All you need to do to rule out a fake photo is do a reverse image search on Google. It’s very simple, and if nothing pops up, it’s likely that it is their photo!
If you happen to become a potential target for a scammer, they will likely try to get you to leave the dating site in order to communicate, but remember; it is much safer to remain in contact on the dating site only, especially if you know you will not be able to meet this person in real life anytime soon– if at all! If you keep your messaging and contact within the dating site, you are more likely to be protected in the event of a scam.
Also, investigate their profiles to the best of your ability– check out any and all photos they may have posted, look at all of their available information and see if it lines up with what they’ve told you, and see if they have any mutual friends or contacts with you, and get in touch with them to see if they know them personally. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!
How To Protect Against Romance Scams
Always keep your profile on private, especially what your occupation is. If you are especially successful, maybe don’t indicate on your profile that you have access to large amounts of funds. That puts a HUGE target on your back! Maybe also don’t reveal if you are recently divorced or disabled, as those are very common victims for scammers as well.
Check out profiles of folks who send you friend requests and see if you have mutual friends, if they have plenty of photos of themselves (ones that clearly did not come from Google), and if their backstories add up.
If they’ve recently lost a spouse, you should be able to back a little way on their profile to see what their late spouse looks like and maybe even posts about their death. It’s not difficult to look into someone’s life just enough to figure out if they are who they say they are, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting to know certain things about someone you may pursue a romantic relationship with! There is no shame in being extra safe, so always be careful when talking to strangers over the internet.
Could You Be A Victim Of A Malaysian Romance Scam?!
It is important that you perform a quick background check on who you are actually speaking to on the internet (you can do that here). The common questions that spring to mind are:
- Are they using fake identities?
- Am I really speaking to a real person from the USA?
To help the users of this site we have partnered with BeenVerified so you can check exactly that. This checking service reveals everything about this would be romance scammer and if they are a real person!
Helpful Information Available on BeenVerified:
- Arrest Records (Please check this!)
- Photos (Helps check if same photos are used for multiple profiles with different names)
- Email Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Social Profiles (IMPORTANT – Do they have a real social profile or multiple)
- Home Addresses
- Relatives & Associates
- Sex Offenders Register (Be safe who you are meeting!)
- And More…
If you have the slightest doubt about who you are speaking to… Please use this service!
Wrap Up
If you take away anything from this article, just know that just about anyone is vulnerable when it comes to scammers– some more than others. They do not discriminate, and they do not care about your financial status, they just care if you have enough money for them to drain you dry. If you aren’t immediately funding them or guaranteeing them of funding, they become desperate and persistent with their questioning and requests.
They might even end up calling you names and berating you for refusing to give them the help they want; in that case, just block them and move on with your day. With hundreds of thousands of scammers out there, relentlessly searching for their next prey, you are very likely to become a target.
Just know what to look out for and how to avoid it, and you should be fine. Only use trusted, secured dating site, NEVER send money to anyone you do not know personally, and perform a background check !
