As with dating offline, online dating carries the risk of heartbreak, but in some cases, online dating also carries the risk that someone will try to break your wallet as well! Learn how to recognize when someone is trying to exploit you financially in an online dating relationship.

Single and looking for a relationship? Odds are you’ve checked out a popular dating site (or two) like eHarmony, Match.com, OkCupid, Zoosk, OurTime or PlentyOfFish, to name a few. As with dating offline, online dating carries the risk of heartbreak, but in some cases, online dating also carries the risk that someone will try to break your wallet as well! Learn how to recognize when someone is trying to exploit you financially in an online dating relationship.

The Financial Risk of Online Dating
Online dating site users typically have similar goals—to find a relationship, and hopefully the love of their lives. In some cases, online dating site users have ulterior motives, like one man from Rockland, Maine who allegedly stole thousands of dollars from the women he was dating. He asked for money to pay for cancer treatment or other doctor bills from multiple women he was dating. Learn more about online dating scams from ConsumerAffairs.

What You Should Do
These tips can help protect you from financial risks on online dating sites:

1. Know the policy. Get to know the membership and cancellation policies for the dating site(s) you are using. Are you billed monthly or yearly? Are there additional charges for certain features? What is the fee for canceling? Some scammers on dating sites will send you links to photos followed by an invoice for services. Know what you’ve signed-up for and think twice before entering your account information for additional services.
2. Meet a real person. You wouldn’t loan money to a stranger, so you shouldn’t give money to someone you’ve only seen through a profile photo online. If a new dating candidate asks for money before you’ve met in person, consider it a warning sign. If after a short time your new heartthrob is asking for money, you can make that choice once you’ve met in person and have gotten to know him or her better.
3. Say “no” to account information requests. If you’ve attempted to meet with your date in person and they have refused or are unable to meet, but continue to ask for money, stop contact immediately. Never give out your account information, stop contact if the requests continue and be sure to report the incident to the dating site.

How Verve Can Help
Verve tries to prevent members from becoming victims of online scams by automatically putting a seven-day hold on suspicious checks.

It’s Verve’s goal—in line with our guiding 7 Cooperative Principles—to provide education, training and information to help our members stay financially fit. Verve is committed to keeping our members educated when it comes to their finances by providing details on financial risks and ways to stay safe. Help keep your family and friends safe by sharing this information on dating site financial risks.