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Alone this St. Valentine's Day? Thinking of finding romance online?
State Sen. Thomas P. Morahan and the New York Consumer Protection Board have a message for you: "Use your head while following your heart."
Last week, the Consumer Protection Board issued a list of guidelines to avoid online dating deception that leaves consumers heartbroken and, in the case of financial scams, just plain broke.
Morahan, R-New City, the chairman of the state Senate's Mental Health Committee, is urging New Yorkers to take the list seriously.
"I think it's a very emotional time - all the hype about Valentine's Day, and all the depression and the loneliness feeling that follows depression," Morahan said.
Those who feel depressed about being alone on the holiday, he said, "become easy prey for the scams that do go on."
"Society has made it a love day, and wouldn't we all love to be loved?" asked Linda Eng, a counselor with an online support group for victims of Internet romance scams. "You become more susceptible to someone who's trying to romance scam you."
George Springer of Spring Valley often uses online dating sites to meet future dates. Springer, 26, said that avoiding scams is often a matter of common sense. But, he added, he's glad the government has issued a warning.
"There's a lot of ups and downs to these online dating sites," he said. "There's really nothing you can do about these sick people who are going on these online dating sites for the wrong reasons."
Among the Consumer Protection Board's tips:
- Don't provide too much identifying information to your new online friend.
- If you move from online chatting to talking on the phone, use a disposable cell phone or calling card number.
- Beware of free dating Web sites; scam artists may like these sites because there's less monitoring and less paperwork for subscribers. Some "free" sites charge fees later on.
- Check for rampant misspellings in an online profile. It may be a sign of a con artist who lives outside the U.S.
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