A 60-year-old Brantford woman has been defrauded of about $9,000 in an online dating scam.

The woman told police Thursday that she had recently “met” a man on an online dating site and he had told her he was travelling to Africa on an unexpected business trip. He then contacted the woman and told her he was in Africa and was having financial difficulties because his credit card had been declined. He convinced the woman to forward money to him. Continue reading »

A 66-year-old woman was scammed out of $300,000 by a man she met on ChristianMingle.com.  Police say a Nigerian man pretending to be British befriended the unidentified San Jose woman, then later wooed her with phone calls, texts and a flower delivery, geobeats says.

After the man suspected he had her in his grasp, he asked her for a $300,000 loan to assist him in his start-up business. Eager to help, she withdrew money from her retirement account and refinanced her home. Continue reading »

A dating website for married people who want to cheat on their spouses is being sued by a former employee who says she damaged her wrists typing up hundreds of fake profiles of sexy women.

Doriana Silva is seeking $20 million from Ashley Madison for what she calls the company’s “unjust enrichment” at her expense, plus another $1 million in punitive and general damages.

In her statement of claim, Silva — a Brazilian immigrant living in Toronto — says she was hired to help launch a Portuguese-language version of the site and promised a starting salary of $34,000 plus benefits.

She was soon asked to create 1,000 “fake female profiles” meant to lure men to the new Brazilian Ashley Madison site — and given only three weeks to complete the work, the document alleges. Continue reading »

Police have issued a public alert after a woman almost fell prey to an online scam over the weekend.

The woman met the suspect through a social networking website in September and they communicated through that site as well as on instant messaging platforms.  They even exchanged compromising photographs of each other, said the police in a press statement on Monday night.

Earlier this month, the suspect, a Caucasian male,  told the woman that he would be coming to Singapore and wanted to meet her. But he requested money from her before the trip, saying it was for “clearance and administrative fees”. The money was to be transferred to his overseas bank account. Continue reading »

A man has been charged with stealing money from some St. Louis women he met online.

Authorities said Maurice Quinn has been charged with two counts of stealing, after he scammed two women out of money.

According to police, Quinn met the women while on a dating website and Craigslist and in both cases he promised the women he could help them fix up their cars with deals he could get at an auction.

Police said the women handed over cash to Quinn and then he took off. Continue reading »

A Florida model on Friday slapped Match.com with a $1.5 billion class-action lawsuit accusing the Internet-dating giant and affiliated websites of posting thousands of fake profiles – including many by Hollywood celebrities and other hotties – to defraud lonely hearts seeking a special someone.

The trademark-infringement suit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Yuliana Avalos, who claims photos of her have been used without consent in at least 200 fake profiles posted on Match.com and other websites run by co-defendant IAC/InterActiveCorp of Manhattan.

“Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t tell me that they saw my pictures posted on Match.com or another web site,” said the sexy Avalos, a Florida-based mother and part-time model. Continue reading »

A Victoria resident was bilked out of $88,000 in a romance website scam.

The victim, who is in her 60s, developed an online relationship with the scammer over several months, said Victoria police spokesman Const. Mike Russell. They met over an online dating website and spoke over messenger services and she eventually agreed to send money.

The victim became suspicious of the transaction and went to Victoria police after the person cut off contact once tens of thousands of dollars were transferred overseas.

Red flags were raised along the way such as the victim didn’t know the proper spelling of the man’s name, his birthday or other things you would know if you were in a relationship, Russell said. Continue reading »