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A deceptive new trend is taking over online dating apps
Are you old enough to remember dating before smartphones ruled the world? There was a time when you actually had to work up the courage to approach someone in person, introduce yourself and ask for their phone number.
Those days are long gone. Now, you just go online in hopes of meeting your next “forever.” It’s very popular. Kim even wrote an eBook about it. Tap or click here to buy Kim’s “7 Steps To Online Dating Success” eBook.
One major problem with dating apps is you don’t really know who is on the other end until you meet them in person. As you might expect, not everyone is always 100% honest about who they are. In fact, there’s a new trend in online dating that drastically ups the deception.
Aww, he’s so cute! What’s his name?
We’ve seen some creative ideas for online dating before. Who could forget when Samsung created a free online tool designed to help find your soulmate called “Refrigerdating?” Yes, the purpose of that was to attract people by enticing them with the food you keep in your refrigerator. Tap or click here to read all about this odd idea.
What’s happening now is people on dating sites are posting profile pictures of themselves snuggling up to a cuddly dog, as if it were their own, when in fact they don’t even have a dog. It’s mostly being done by men. Shocker!
This goofy trend is known as “Dogfishing.” I suppose it’s not as evil as Catfishing, which is when you think you’re speaking with someone online and their profile turns out to be completely fake.
The theory with Dogfishing is women find men more attractive if they see men playing with their dog. It’s like it gives men qualities women are looking for in a mate, like kindness and a nurturing disposition.
So, Max the Golden Retriever might be able to help draw a potential match in, but what happens when she shows up and discovers he doesn’t actually have a dog? Maybe guys should just be honest upfront so they don’t keep disappointing the dog lovers of the world.
How to recognize online dating scams
Dogfishing isn’t necessarily the worst type of scam, at least not one that will drain your bank account; however, there are plenty of scammers in the online dating world looking to do just that. Here’s an example of one scam where a woman was bilked out of almost $300,000.
The Federal Trade Commission is trying to help people avoid these types of online dating scams. Here are some suggestions it says to watch for:
- Your match professes love too quickly.
- Claims to be from the U.S. but is “traveling” or “working” out of the country.
- Cancels a meeting or trip at the last minute.
- Asks for money.
- Spelling and grammatical errors on their profile.
The FBI warns you should never send money through a wire transfer service to someone you met online. The chances of recovering your money are very slim.
It’s never too late in life to find true love and dating sites can be a helpful resource. You just really need to be careful and use common sense to stay safe. Happy dating!
Tags: apps, online dating, phone, scams
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