Sensitive people more vulnerable to online dating scams

Are you a sensitive and emotionally less intelligent person? If yes, you may be at an increased risk of being duped in online dating, says a study, adding that rise in the number of people using online dating has also increased fraud.

Perpetrators of dating scams simply set up false profiles on dating websites with the sole purpose of extracting money from their victims.

They use sophisticated techniques and eventually may begin to know exactly the sort of people to target and how to manipulate them, the researchers noted. “Our study focused on why some individuals are more likely to become the victims of these scams than others,” said Martin Graff from University of South Wales in Britain.

The scammer first grooms a victim by expressing love for them before outlining their desperate circumstances. They then attempt to request money from the victim. 

The findings were presented at the ongoing British Psychological Society’s annual conference in Nottingham. The results revealed that victims had used dating sites for less than four weeks and had parted with amounts ranging from 50 pounds (Rs 4,848) to 63,000 pounds (Rs 61,07,878).

The victims had a tendency to be efficient, organised and disciplined. However, they also were more likely to express emotion and display a preoccupied attachment style. This means they could be overly dependent on and seeking approval from the person to whom they are attached.

Over 90 victims of dating scams took part in questionnaires relating to their personality, how they relate to other people, self-esteem and emotional intelligence as well as their age and gender. “These findings will be beneficial to dating sites and law enforcement agencies in attempting to protect the vulnerable from being scammed,” the researchers stated.