One in ten profiles on online dating sites is fake, according to a new research conducted by dating website SeekingArrangement.com, which deletes more than 200 fraudulent accounts every day.
CEO Brandon Wade told the New York Daily News that they are not talking about lying about your age or weight, but are talking about scammers who are trying to take your money.
According to the FBI, more than 50 million dollars is stolen every year in romance scams.
Wade’s company compiled a list of the most common characteristics from the 60,000 accounts it has deleted to help singles spot warning signs.
“Scammers tend to prey on a few things. They want you to trust them, and they want sympathy,” Wade said.
He said that 63 percent of fake profiles describe themselves as widows, while a whopping 36 percent of fraudsters describe themselves as Native American, mistakenly thinking it means only that they’re from America.
It was found that the bogus accounts are more likely to belong to a woman- 71%, than a man- 29%.
The research also suggested that Catholicism is the most common religion among the fake profiles.
Location varies, but many fake profiles are listed in Nigeria, the Ukraine and the Philippines.
When it comes to work, fraudsters often claim to be engineers or royalty or to be self-employed.
Wade also hopes that his “Face of Fraud” research encourages other dating websites to be smart when searching for fraudulent profiles.
