I became a private investigator in 2014 but in 2016, I decided to use my skills to focus on the dating sector after I was approached by a victim of romance fraud.
She had met a person through an online dating app and later found out that he had lied about his name and various bits of information. Although my client did not know the person’s real name, their age, or their address, she mentioned that he spoke about a family member who had a very unusual name. By searching this unusual name and looking through his family photographs, I was able to identify the real person behind the scam.
I’d had a similar experience 20 years ago. After I had gotten a divorce, I decided to venture into the world of online dating. I quickly realized that some people would often lie about trivial things. For example, a few people lied to me about their height and thought that I wouldn’t notice when I saw them face to face.
With the rise of smartphones and online dating, many people are not thinking about the different ways in which they are opening themselves up to the world. For example, you would not let a stranger walk through your front door, yet it seems okay to let a stranger into your life through your smartphone or your computer, without thinking of the possible consequences.
Samantha Cooper
With online dating, people don’t often speak to the authorities when they feel that the person on the…
