According to new data, online dating users appear to be less concerned about being a victim of romance fraud than other forms of digital scams.
Research conducted by insurance company Hartford Steam Boiler found that 68% of respondents are worried about cyber attacks in general, whereas only 37% said they are concerned about online dating fraud.
This is despite reports from the Federal Trade Commission revealing that the losses from romance scams was higher than any other category of fraud in 2018.
Online dating users in the US lost over $143 million across 21,00 different cases. It’s also believed that a significant number of losses are not reported, due to the victim being too embarrassed to come forward.
The amounts are similar in the UK, with the average victim being scammed out of more than £2,000.
Vice President of Hartford Steam Boiler Timothy Zeilman said in a statement: “Online dating risks can include fraud, blackmail and invasion of privacy. Yet, many people reveal their personal and even intimate information without thinking about digital security.”
Munich Re, the owner of Hartford Steam Boiler, has offered some advice to users about how to say safe online. This includes not sharing overly personal information with individuals before meeting in person and never accessing a dating site on public Wi-Fi.
Sakawa is a new documentary film which investigates how Ghanaian scammers treat extracting money from Westerners as a full-time job.
Read more here.