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January 22nd, 2026
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means that many people are rushing onto online dating apps so that they won’t be alone on this day. With countless swipes to try and find the perfect date this Valentine’s Day, many people don’t realize that there are many unknown dangers when swiping through potential matches on the Internet. Scammers lurk these apps and will pretend to be the perfect girl or guy to lure you into their trap. They will then scam you out of thousands of dollars if you aren’t careful. Because of this, we wanted to let you know of 5 online dating tips to follow this Valentine’s Day so that you can stay safe from the romance scammers!
5 Online Dating Tips to Follow This Valentine’s Day
1. Video Chat or Meet Them in Person Before Getting Into a Serious Relationship With Them.
In order to ensure that you aren’t talking to a scammer, the best way to know for sure who you are talking to is to video chat them or meet them in person! If you are going on a date with someone from your area and you’ve met them in person, chances are they aren’t a scammer.
If you are in a long-distance relationship and video chat with someone you met online, then you know they are a real person but still be wary of their intentions. Sometimes, scammers can mimic a video chat but it’s usually very easy to tell if this is being done.
2. Be Wary if Their Messages Have Bad Grammar.
A lot of the time, English isn’t the main language of a Nigerian romance scammer, meaning that they are still learning how to type in English. Because of this, they are bound to have a lot of misspellings and grammatical errors when typing.
Be on the lookout for words that are spelled weird or sentences that don’t make any sense while messaging the person you are talking to. Also, watch out for unrecognizable accents because the person you are talking to could have a Nigerian accent without you realizing it.
3. Don’t Date Someone Long-Distance With an Overseas Job If You Don’t Know Them in Person.
If someone is claiming to be in the military or working on an oil-rig, then that person is most likely a romance scammer. They usually say this so that they have an excuse as to why they can’t talk to you as much, why they can’t see you, and/or why they need money.
If someone says that they do this for a living and is always coming up with excuses as to why they can’t video chat or talk on the phone with you, this is a huge red flag that they are a scammer.
4. Don’t Give Money to Anyone Who Asks For it Online For Any Reason.
If someone you met online is asking for money from you for any reason, this is also a huge red flag that they are a scammer. Whether it be for an emergency or a small grocery bill that they claim they need help with, they will not use the money you give them for this reason. These are only excuses so that you feel bad for them and want to help them. However, even if you think that it’s only a one-time thing, they will still find more excuses to get money from you.
A lot of times, they will even ask for gift card codes and wire transfer payments and will come up with excuses as to why these are the most convenient platforms for them. The real reason they ask for these methods of payment though is due to the fact that the money would be untraceable so it is nearly impossible for you to get your money back.
5. Perform a Reverse Image Search on Their Pictures if They Look Too Good To Be True.
A reverse image search with Social Catfish will allow you to see who the real person is behind the image of the suspected catfish. If you suspect that the person talking to you is too good to be true or just want to make sure that who you are talking to is real, you can upload their image on our website to see who it really is.
If there are exact images of the person on different dating websites, chances are you are talking to a romance scammer. However, if there are no matches of the image you looked up, then there might be a chance this person is real. You can also look up their name, email address, phone number, or social media username to make sure that the person you are talking to is who they say they are. You can also report them to the FTC if they aren’t who they say they are. Be sure to look out for more of our future blog posts for more online dating tips!
