Online Dating Scams

This letter from a reader, in the United States.   I will call him Bob to protect his identity.

Hi Ronin,

Thanks so much for the working that you are doing. My question is that, would this article also apply to debit cards as well? I was recently the victim of a scam from 4 different bogus sites, they are: cklvhr.com; fndmsn.com; lstfl.com; sweveb.com. The first 2 companies, who say their located in Florida, USA, charged me $39.99, the 3rd company, from Great Britain, charged $0.32, and then a few days later, sweveb.com, charged me $39.99, but thankfully, I had nsf funds, so the action was declined.

Surprisingly, the last 2 sites both have the same address. Now, after reading your helpful articles, do you think it is better to speak with my credit union on the phone or in person because I have never had to deal with something like this before? I haven’t and won’t contact those companies.

My problem started on Plenty of Fish in early September, and, after talking a bit with “someone” on POF who was fake but I thought was real, I was directed by my “potential date” to a verification site (I don’t remember the site’s name), and then after I gave my debit card information, and was “verified” for “FREE”, I was sent to AdultFriendFinder.com and I or they created an account for me (I think I created it, however, I have not confirmed the account when AdultFriendFinder.com sent me a link on my email to do so, maybe that’s why they haven’t charged me?) The site is very filthy, not what I expected, I am guessing they are a scam site? I thought everything would be for FREE, but it wasn’t.

Then, after all of this happened, 4 days later, on September 11th, I looked at my bank account and I saw 3 unfamiliar websites that I mentioned above, took money from my account without my authorization. And sweveb’s attempt at taking money from my account happened 6 days later, which was as I wrote earlier, the 4th company.

My sincere hope is that I will be refunded the money that was taken from me by these bogus companies, and I am guessing that because of the scam that they executed on 09/11, my car insurance firm wasn’t able to get the money that they usually take from my account around that time, maybe? I hope to use your articles to argue my case with my credit union, do you have any further advise for me? I hope that I won’t be charged again by those scammer companies in the next billing cycle. I have already cancelled my debit card and was sent a replacement, :).

A customer representative that I talked with in person at my credit union told me to call each company and fix the matter, but that was before I found your site, so I am very glad that I didn’t call any of those firms. Those scammer firms keep records at least for 10 years according to what one of them said on their site.

Thanks again for your help!

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Hi Bob, thanks for telling your story.

You did the right thing canceling your Debit Card right away.  Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, whenever you meet someone online and they ask you to sign up to another site, you know it is a scam.

Lets go thru some important aspects of your story…

Debit Cards are not the same as Credit Cards

In the U.S., there are protections for credit card transaction fraud.  The Fair Credit Billing Act provides a $50 limit of liability in the cases of fraud, and the ability to dispute a transaction.

When you file a dispute, you have the possibility of getting a refund.  If the investigation reveals fraud, then you get your money back, and the financial institution issues a charge back to the vendor, thru the credit card company (Visa, MasterCard etc.).

Debit cards are not covered under the Fair Credit Billing Act.  There is no protection against fraud.  Although you can use your debit card like a credit card, and have it run thru the credit card company network, it is not considered credit – it is a cash transaction.  For this reason you should not use your debit card in a credit card transaction – especially online.

Generally people will say that it is OK to use your debit card at a grocery store and the like, companies whom you trust.   Be aware that if the store has a security breach, and someone obtains your debit card – your account could be drained before you or the store knows it happened.  If you have to use it, use it as a debit card.  Go to the ATM and get the cash if you can, then shop.  Personally, I use a credit card for everything and pay it in full at the end of the month.  I never run a balance.  My wife and I use a cash-back type rewards credit card that put the money in a 529 college savings plan for our children.  The point – it’s a safe and profitable method.

The .32 Cent Charge

This is a charge that simply verifies that the merchant has a valid account. It might be tied to a free trial period at one of the sites but they are really just verifying that they can charge the account.

This is a common tactic when someone has stolen credit card information. They make a small charge, see if it goes thru, and then follow up with a big charge.

Sometimes a legitimate company will do this. For example, my bitcoin wallet company charged $1.00 and then reversed the charge, as a means of validating that they had a real person. My card company actually rejected the charge. I had to talk to my bank customer service to let them know it was legitimate. OBTW, this is a good thing.

The Four Web Sites are Billing Facades

Each of the sites you mention have the same pattern as the the billing sites for the typical Date Verification Scam. I have not previously seen cklvhr.com or fndmsn.com. I am familiar with lstfl.com and sweveb.com. These last two I found by knowingly clicking thru a date verification scam website. Here is my research on sweveb.com – Sweet Love Begins.

Adult FriendFinder

AFF is a legitimate site.  It is part of the FriendFinder Network, a company in California.  It is an adult site, that is intended for those seeking sexual encounters.

A common problem in online dating (particularly adult sites) is that men vastly outnumber women.  This is not a scam, it is just demographics.

As this site clearly is not suited for you, cancel your membership and delete the ID created.  The Friend Finder Network has multiple sites that are geared towards many different demographics, including traditional dating.

You should also report to Friend Finder Networks, how you were signed up. They will have records of the affiliate “partner” who referred you. Most likely, such activity is a violation of the FFN affiliate agreement.

Plenty of Fish

Like all online dating sites, there are scammers present.  Report the user to the admin of the site.  They will cancel the account.  No doubt they will pop up again with another ID, but the PoF administrators can track the IP address in some cases and prevent the same person from doing it again.  Even if it only helps a little, it is the right thing to do.

Getting a Refund

Your only chance is to contact the companies and see if they will refund your money.   I don’t like the fact that you need to do this, but your only hope is the good will of the website company. If you can afford the loss, then it might be better to just move on.

Most of the cases I am aware of, the company will only cancel your subscription.  I have had a few people tell me that the companies will refund the money.  This must be viewed with some skepticism as it could be one of the company representatives who has received charge backs.  (A charge back is what happens to the scam website, when a dispute is successful.  It costs them money and endangers their ability to take credit card transactions.)

You will probably need to provide a partial card number to get the refund.  You would only provide the canceled debit card number.  A  refund to a canceled card with the same  underlying account, should work,  You should check with your credit union to make sure.  If they say it will not, then you will have to ask for an alternative refund, such as a check.

 

For more Information

If you have been caught up in this scam, and did not authorize the charge, see this page for more information.

 

 

To the extent that you can support this site, it is greatly appreciated.  Following me on Instagram or Twitter is also very helpful. Thank you and good luck.

Ronin Eternales

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