There's a warning about an online dating scam, and KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis has what you need to know so you don't end up heartbroken and broke, the station reported Monday.
Law enforcement officers said the number of "sweetheart scams" is off the charts, but there are things to do to protect yourself.
Linda Long was a dating Web site user who did not get what she expected.
"You think you're answering a blue-eyed guy, but that's not who you are answering," she said.
Her profile read, "Linda, a 50-something single mom looking for an all-around nice guy."
Instead, she said she got all-around scammers who likely sent photos of other people.
Long said she has learned to recognize the red flags -- they live or work far away.
"All of a sudden he says, 'I'm over in Africa,'" she said.
Then, they ask if their new online girlfriend could wire some money for a business deal in the works.
If you ask any questions, the grammar goes downhill.
"He misspelled everything and I thought, 'This is no archaeologist. He isn't even a college graduate,'" she said.
She decided to play along.
"I just kept going on and on. How much money do you need? He got real excited," Long said.
"The scheme seems to consistently morph itself, every time one variation has run its course, it re-emerges," said Dave Colen, a U.S. postal inspector.
The scams have become so popular that a new type of Web site was born to weed out the fake photographs sent by repeat romance scammers.
Long said some were not hard to spot.
"I said, 'Send me a picture of your treasure.' He sent me a photo of a Tiffany Lamp, and it was a picture from a catalog," she said.
Many online dating sites said they now have security policies in place to protect against scams.
The site that Long used, www.meetforcoffee.com, said it asks users to report fraudulent activities and will remove the profile in question.
But Long said that after she reported the first guy, she found his picture back on the site, just under a different name.
The FBI said that is all the more reason to keep your guard up.
