Don't Be A Victim of Chinese Online Dating Scams Part 1

For a lot of foreign men and Chinese women whose motivations for and intentions of finding a partner online are sincere, the relative anonymity that Chinese dating sites provide them gives them more confidence and sense of security than they would have if they were meeting a complete stranger in the real world. Even when they present their true selves on these sites, posting their pictures and providing certain personal details, there is an inherent sense of safety they feel when they reach out, and even open up to, other people through the virtual veil of technology, as opposed to being physically face to face. And then there are unscrupulous individuals who use this anonymity to misrepresent themselves and scam others; they also give Chinese women a bad name with their dishonest and, most of the time, salacious behavior.

There are fraudulent Chinese dating sites and then there are scammers who manage to join legitimate, and even reputable, matchmaking sites using false profiles. Whatever the case, these scammers prey upon people who may still be new to the world of online dating or are in vulnerable situations; those who are naive, highly impressionable, or just naturally trustful; as well as sophisticated, experienced, and intelligent individuals. These deceitful characters do not just limit themselves to easy targets; they have found ways of manipulating and victimizing even the clever ones. Their goal is always to get their victims to send them money or do favors for them that involve money.

These ill-intentioned individuals use photos they find online and create fake profiles in different, and most of the time multiple, scammer Chinese dating sites as well as legitimate ones. In almost all of these fraudulent sites, the fake profiles feature supposed members in very revealing photos with the purpose of attracting more men and getting as many of them as possible to communicate with them. Many initiate contact themselves. It is common for these scammers to present themselves as very lonely people who have recently suffered a loss or heartbreak or highly educated and successful individuals who have, so far, been unlucky in love. Their most common strategy is appealing to a person's sense of compassion, evoking empathy, and tugging at their heartstrings. When they employ this strategy, they usually move fast, asking for some sort of financial help after only a relatively short time from first contact.

They won't pass up a challenge, either. When their target is an easy one, they can be patient and invest weeks or even months building the person's trust; they may even spend a small amount of money themselves as part of their scheme, flattering and impressing their victim to convince them of their sincerity. Sooner or later, however, they will bring up a circumstance of their own creation in which asking for money will seem justified and believable; more often than not, it is some sort of emergency or financial crisis.

Aside from the obvious villainy of these undesirable characters, they also besmirch the good character of Chinese women, putting them in an unfavorable and a disgraceful light and perpetuating unwarranted indignity and dishonor. This side effect, so to speak, is doubly cruel given that Chinese women are already devalued in their own society. As they try to elevate themselves and seek love and appreciation from foreign men, the scams carried out using fake profiles of Chinese women can greatly hurt their efforts. Chinese women are known to people, especially men, from other countries to be delicate and cultured, but such blatant character smearing by these scammers can close real opportunities for these ladies to find a lifetime of happiness and love.

For those foreign men who are seriously interested in meeting the respectable women of China in the hopes of finding their life mate, the most effective first line of defense they can have against these fraudulent sites and characters is credible information. While even the most reliable search engines that use very complicated algorithms specifically designed to stamp out such activities can still be outmaneuvered by these skilled scammers, they can also use these tools to weed out fake Chinese dating sites. They can do this easily given the right search parameters. Their next line of defense should target the individual fake profiles themselves. There are certain warning signals they can watch out for. Visiting forums that discuss these issues will give them plenty of valuable information about how to best avoid getting hoodwinked online.

The most respectable Chinese dating sites, such as ChinaLoveMatch.net, can be the best source of credible information about online dating safety and security. These sites, CLM in particular, also make it their priority to ensure that all members are real people with honest intentions.