{"id":2137,"date":"2023-02-14T08:20:43","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T06:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/?p=2137"},"modified":"2023-02-14T15:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T13:48:09","slug":"romance-is-great-%e2%9d%a4%ef%b8%8fromance-fraud-is-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/2023\/02\/14\/romance-is-great-%e2%9d%a4%ef%b8%8fromance-fraud-is-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Romance Is Great \u2764\ufe0fRomance Fraud Is Not"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2137\" class=\"elementor elementor-2137\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-be658b8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"be658b8\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ac9a0c9\" data-id=\"ac9a0c9\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d29a7c7 no-border orange elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d29a7c7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Romance Is Great \u2764\ufe0fRomance Fraud Is Not<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59a9a18 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"59a9a18\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Love and protect your data this Valentine\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Our lives take place online now more than ever before. On social media, chat apps, and dating apps \u2013 we\u2019re connecting with other people, for different reasons, across the miles in new and different ways.<\/strong><\/p><p>One of those reasons is to find our perfect partner. But while many of us are cyber smart \u2013 we\u2019ve wised up to scams and phishing emails to get us to part with our money or personal data \u2013 we may not be so familiar with what cyber security experts call \u2018romance fraud.\u2019<\/p><p>This is the name given to the criminal activity that involves creating a fake identity to enter a relationship with a victim \u2013 sometimes known as \u2018catfishing\u2019 \u2013 to steal funds, personal information, or both.<\/p><p>The criminal does this by using email, dating apps, online games and so on, typically targeting younger or much older people, or lonely individuals, and gaining their trust. They then go in for the steal. While some fraud cases are authored by one individual, others have been exposed as larger operations, overseen by organised criminal gangs, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/south-african-police-arrest-eight-men-suspected-of-romance-scams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>such as this one in South Africa<\/strong><\/a> from 2021.<\/p><p>And the problem is getting worse. In the UK, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre revealed that in 2022, almost \u00a392 million [US$110 million] had been lost through dating scams. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/contact-us\/field-offices\/houston\/news\/press-releases\/1-billion-in-losses-reported-by-victims-of-romance-scams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>the FBI in the United States reported a huge US$1 billion in losses<\/strong><\/a> by victims of romance fraud in 2021, with the likelihood that many more went unreported.<\/p><p>That\u2019s the bad news. But the good news is we can each take action to make sure we\u2019re not conned \u2013 an especially timely message in the season of love.<\/p><p><strong>You can help yourself and others, and here\u2019s how:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Be cautious and vigilant of any odd signs or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or suspicious<\/li><li>Does your online \u201cdate\u201d only ever contact you via text or chat, never willing to do a video call or meet in person? This is a definite red flag<\/li><li>Do they promise to meet you but cancel or offer excuses every time? These can be signs there\u2019s something awry<\/li><li>Do they say they have a medical or other emergencies that they need you to help them pay for? Very often it\u2019s about an ailing family member with a\u00a0terminal illness<\/li><li>Maybe they ask a lot of personal questions about you but avoid answering any such questions about themselves.<\/li><li>They may ask you not to tell anyone about your relationship or suggest you lie to your family and friends<\/li><li>They may ask you for financial help and say that you sending them money is proof that you love them<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Expert advice when you are talking to someone new online is:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Don\u2019t share your personal details<\/li><li>Don\u2019t send or receive money, no matter how convincing someone\u2019s story might be<\/li><li>Only use the most trustworthy dating websites<\/li><li>Trust your instincts. If something feels off, it usually is<\/li><\/ul><p>For further guidance and hands-on help, <b><a href=\"https:\/\/angloamerican.sharepoint.com\/sites\/ESC-112\/Family guide\/Forms\/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FESC%2D112%2FFamily%20guide%2FJ1313%20Anglo%5FFamily%5FGuide%5FAW%5Finteractive%2Epdf&amp;parent=%2Fsites%2FESC%2D112%2FFamily%20guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-wplink-url-error=\"true\">download this family guide<\/a><\/b> and make sure #CyberYou stays cyber-safe this Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p><p><em>If you think you\u2019ve been a victim of a romance scam, contact your bank immediately (if transfers are involved) and report the incident to the police. You should also change all your online passwords as they may have been compromised, and apply multi-factor authentication to your devices or apps.<\/em><\/p><p><em>You should also report the incident to the South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) on 011 867 2234 \u2013 especially if you have been a victim of identity theft. You can get emotional support through the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) on 0800 567 567, or through therapists and counsellors in private practice.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you find love online\u2026 you might lose more than your heart&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-2137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-life-144-14-february-2023"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2137"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2355,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2137\/revisions\/2355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.move-me.co.za\/life-at-oxfordcampus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}