Investigating online dating fraud

Posted on 06 February 2015.The one thing that online dating scammers have in common is that their preferred target demographic is vulnerable and trusting people with a limited social circle or support group.

In 2014, 1.37 percent of all transactions on online dating sites were fraudulent. In comparison, iovation says 1.24 percent of all transactions it monitored across all industries in 2014 were fraudulent. In February 2014 - the time period where people increasingly seek companionship around Valentine’s Day - 1.46 percent of all online dating transactions were fraudulent. On February 14, 2014, 1.41 percent of all transactions were fraudulent on online dating sites.

In this case, iovation defines transactions as any interaction a customer has with an online dating site such as account registration, activation, login, account management and purchase.

The top five types of fraud that occur on online dating sites, in order of most to least perpetrated, are: full article