Love In The Time Of Cybersecurity

MOBILE DATING APPS ARE INCREASINGLY GAINING POPULARITY TODAY AS THEY EFFORTLESSLY HELP CONNECT PEOPLE WHO SHARE SIMILAR INTERESTS THROUGH THE PUSH OF A BUTTON OR SWIPE OF A FINGER. HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT OF SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION THEY CONTAIN IS CAUSE FOR CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO CYBERSECURITY, DANIEL BARDSLEY REPORTS.

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A quick Internet search will highlight many unhappy stories of people who have been scammed through online dating.

It is not uncommon for individuals to lose their life savings by sending money to someone who was not who they said they were.

There is no doubt that online dating sites, including specialist ones such as those catering to the needs of Muslims, can be good for meeting a future spouse, but the format is open to abuse.

Professor Tom Buchanan, a psychologist who has studied the effects of fakery in online profiles, says the impact on victims is “pretty much devastating”.

“More than the obvious financial loss, such incidents also cause victims very high levels of distress,” says Buchanan, who works at the University of Westminster in London.

When someone starts asking for money, Buchanan says it is “a surefire sign it’s a scam”, but often, by this stage, the potential victim is so committed to what seems to be a genuine relationship that he or she does not back off.

“Often, the rose-coloured spectacles are in the way,” he says. “But when the awful truth becomes apparent, victims face what we call a ‘double hit,’ wherein they suffer both financially and emotionally.”

The problem is vast – and growing.

For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States received 15,000 reports of romance scams in 2016, up about one-fifth on the previous year, and victims lost almost a quarter of a billion dollars.

There are instances of people who pay out repeatedly to the same fraudster, and cases of individuals who have been scammed by one person, only to later fall victim to another criminal.