There are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself from being tricked by the clever and manipulative criminals who carry out #RomanceFraud.

#Fauxmance THREAD ⬇️

1⃣ Avoid giving away too many personal details when speaking online to someone who you’ve never met in person; this could lead to your identity being stolen.
2⃣ Stay on the platform’s messaging service until you meet in person. Criminals will want to quickly switch to other platforms that are less regulated and have better encryption, so there’s no evidence of them asking you for money.
3⃣ Whatever reason they may give to move away from the site where you met, consider – if they’re genuine, they'll accept your decision to stay on the platform until you meet in person.
4⃣ Most online platforms have a reporting tool. You can use this if you suspect someone online is using pictures that don’t belong to them, if you're suspicious of their behaviour, or if they ask you for money.
5⃣ Reporting someone’s profile means it can be blocked. This will help protect other users from criminals committing #RomanceFraud.
6⃣ Remember, no matter how long you’ve been talking to someone online and how much you trust them, if you haven’t met in person do not send them any money. Don’t allow them access to your bank accounts or transfer money on their behalf.
7⃣ Criminals may also ask you to:

🏦 take a loan out for them
🆔 provide copies of personal documents such as your passport or driving license
💰 invest your money on their behalf
💳 purchase and send the codes on gift cards

Protect yourself ▶️ https://t.co/vlGTMFeY67
8⃣ Any of us can be tricked by these clever criminals. You shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed if you’ve been a victim of a scam.

Contact your bank immediately and report it to @actionfrauduk.

👉https://t.co/vlGTMFeY67 . #RomanceFraud #Fauxmance

^hs

@threadreaderapp unroll

More from Life

1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.

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