Halloween is just around the corner and everyone is getting their Halloween costumes just in time for the scariest day of the year. However, if you’re talking to someone online and want to see if they are who they say they are, you might be wondering how you can scare them off. There are many types of Halloween costumes a scammer would be scared of if they saw them. This is due to the fact that there are Halloween costumes that could make you look like law enforcement, a secret agent, a hacker, or a serial killer straight out of a horror movie. This is why at Social Catfish we thought that we would inform you on how to spot a romance scammer, 6 Halloween costumes that will scare scammers away, and how to avoid romance scams.
How to Spot Romance Scammers
Romance scammers create fake profiles that trick victims on social media platforms and dating apps. Then they message random victims claiming that they think they are gorgeous and want to get to know them more. The victims become flattered and think that the scammer is into them as a person. They start chatting about the victim’s interests and anything the victim is interested in something, the scammer admits that they are into the same thing. This makes the victim fall for them harder and faster, meaning that their trust for the scammer is growing bigger and bigger.
Once the scammer gains their victim’s trust, they start asking for money claiming that it’s for an emergency. Some scammers claim they need it since they lost their job while other scammers claim that they got injured and their life is at risk if they don’t get their money. Victims believe in what these scammers are saying and feel like they need to help them out since they care about them so much. They send these scammers thousands of dollars to make sure they get the help they need. However, scammers claim that this isn’t enough and come up with yet another excuse as to why they need their victims’ money. They keep asking and asking until the victim goes bankrupt. Romance scammers then move on to the next one once they realize that their victim has no more money left to give them.
Halloween Costumes That Will Scare Romance Scammers Away!
Police Officer
Photo Credit: Party City
Scammers are terrified of police officers since they know that what they are doing is illegal, and they are afraid of going to jail. Because of this, if you sent a photo of yourself in a police officer costume claiming to be a cop, this might just scare off the scammer. If the romance scammer stops talking to you after you do this, then you know they are lying about their identity.
Escaped Prisoner
Photo Credit: Party City
Scammers might be terrified if they saw you dressed as an escaped prisoner. They might think that you also commit crimes and therefore would try to steal the scammers’ money. They might also be afraid of getting caught and going to jail since they think you went to jail because of your costume. Therefore, if they think that you’ve been to jail due to your costume they might want to stay away.
Robber
Photo Credit: Party City
These look like robbers who want their scammer’s money! If you dress like a robber and send a photo of you dressed up to your scammer, they will think that you’re after their money. However, scammers will do whatever they can to protect their money from anyone else. Therefore, if they see you dressed up as a robber they might hit that block button very quickly.
Terrifying Masked Costumes
Photo Credit: Party City
Costumes of Michael Myers, Chucky, or other scary masked figures might raise an eyebrow with scammers. They might wonder who is under the mask and might even question what your intentions are with them. Are you an ordinary person behind the mask or a mass murderer under the mask waiting to pounce? If they have no idea, it might be enough to scare them away.
How to Avoid Romance Scams
- Don’t give money to someone on the Internet that you’ve never met in person.
- Don’t give out your personal information to someone that you are talking to online.
- If someone is moving the relationship super fast, be cautious by slowing the relationship down.
- Don’t get too serious with someone without at least video chatting with them or meeting them in person first.
- If they have a job overseas, this is a huge red flag that they might be a romance scammer since they usually use this as an excuse to not see you or video chat with you.
- If someone is randomly contacting you out-of-the-blue on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter this usually means they are a romance scammer.
- Report any scam that you’ve been a part of to the FTC, IC3, and FBI.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You!
At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you think you’ve been a victim of romance scams.







