02/13/2014By Christine DiGangi, a writer for Credit.comValentine’s Day can be a pretty
obnoxious holiday, particularly if you’re expecting to spend the 14th all by
yourself. The constant reminders that “love is in the air,” coupled with the
loneliness you might already be feeling, can make single people vulnerable to all sorts of scams. However you might feel about being
alone on Valentine’s Day, make sure your emotions don’t make you easy prey. 1.
Social Love Scams pop up on Facebook and Twitter
year-round, but holiday-themed posts can be particularly enticing. Be careful
about what you click, whether it’s a quiz, article or an invitation from a
friend — if it’s linking to a site you don’t recognize or asking you for personal information, it’s probably a good idea to avoid it. 2.
Spammy Emails Ideally, your spam filter will keep
love-themed phishing attempts out of your inbox, but if not, exercise caution
when you see an email
hawking some sort of love connection or Valentine’s Day-themed cure for your
loneliness. Even if it appears to be from a source you recognize, take a close
look at the message to see if the sender’s address seems right and the text is
free of mistakes. If you have any doubts about its authenticity, don’t click on
anything — except the delete button. 3.
Dating Scams With all the apps and online services
geared toward finding a companion, you could probably get a date for
Valentine’s Day — not necessarily a good one, but a date nonetheless. Beware of
someone who asks you a lot of personal questions, requests money or puts off
in-person meetings. They might be searching for someone to defraud, as opposed to a dinner companion. If you feel like you may have already
succumbed to a scammer and shared information that could leave you vulnerable
to identity-related crimes like new-account fraud, it’s important to keep an
eye on your credit. You can get your full free annual credit reports once a year at
AnnualCreditReport.com. Just because you don’t have a date this
Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you’re missing out, so don’t take the bait from
someone trying to make you think you are. Do something that makes you happy,
and maybe stay away from the Internet this weekend — you probably don’t want to
see everyone’s gushy Instagrams, anyway. |