Scamming Overview

The end game for scammers is to steal your money, not your heart, by either:

• Convincing you to give them money (because they've fallen in love with you, even though you two have never met), or
• Attempting to collect personal/fincial information from you so that they can syphon off your bank account.

Scammers use fake photos (taken from other sites), fake addresses, fake everything.

Don't disclose personal details too soon

• Don't disclose your internet (off-site) e-mail address or telephone number until you've become comfortable with your new friend. Keep all communication within VeggieConnection.com until you've arranged a meeting.
• Don't disclose your home address until you've met in person (in a public place such as Starbucks). Even then, be cautious about such disclosure.

On-Site Communication Advantages

Keep communication on VeggieConnection.com. After all, it's 100% free! On-site e-mailing has many advantages in addiiton to being safer:

• Your messages will be better organized into VeggieConnection.com-only correspondence.
• VeggieConnection.com on-site e-mails are 100% reliably delivered. Internet e-mails are subject to false-positive spam blocking, failed delivery, and e-mail loss.
• You can quickly view the sender's profile (photo/details) to remind yourself who you're conversing with.
• Want to safely text/phone/video chat? See our new Chat System.
• You can save Diary notes about the member.
• You can block annoying members via the 🚫 block button.
• We can monitor the originating country of on-site correspondence so we can catch fakers quickly.
• If a member you're corresponding with is removed for fraud, you'll know quickly if you're corresponding on-site.
• In the event that you wish to report a member, on-site e-mails provide us with evidence. We require evidence to take action. We cannot act on off-site e-mails (messages outside of VeggieConnection.com) because such correspondence is not verifiable.
  
  Scammers often try to take their conversation off-site (e-mail / texting) to avoid being tracked. They know that the site cannot take action without verifiable evidence (on-site e-mails). Beware of members pressuring you to taking your conversation off-site! On-site communication is safer.

Popular Scams

• My daddy was assassinated and left me 20 million dollars. I need you, someone I've never met, to help me transfer this money to a different bank account and I'll promise you 20%.
  You'll be asked for your bank account details and possibly bribe money. Then your bank account will be drained.
• I am caring, loving, truthful, and I hate liars. I happen to be in Nigeria right now on business.
  Watch out for out-of-country claims.
• I'm Svetlana. I'm beautiful and I'm in love with you and want to marry you, even though we've never met and exchanged only two messages. Can you please send me some money for {my internet fees, rent, my sick mom, a plane ticket to meet you, etc.}?
  The implausible usually is. If they start asking for money, run in the other direction.
• I urgently need money because {place heart-wrenching story here}. I have no one else in the world to turn to but you, a complete stranger whom I've never met and only exchanged two e-mails with.
  The implausible usually is. If they start asking for money, run in the other direction.
• I volunteer at an orphanage in Africa and the orphanage desperately needs money. We have no where to turn except to you, someone I've never met. Can you help? Anything will do. "It's not for me, it's for the children."
  A popular scam. If they start asking for money, run in the other direction.
• Can you cash $1000 in US travelers checks for me because I can't cash them in my country and just send me back $800? Keep $200 for your troubles.
  The travelers checks will be fake. Your bank will invalidate the entire deposit (including the $200), and you'll be out $800 of your own money that you sent, with no legal recourse. You could also end up being fined or even jailed for passing fraudulent travelers checks.

Major Red Flags

• You've corresponded a few times but certain information seems to change, such as where they live, their age, or their occupation.
• They claim to be well educated, yet their grammar/spelling is atrocious! Often some sentences are perfect while others are ridiculous.
• Direct questions remain unanswered, and you feel you're getting "canned" responses, often telling you what a wonderful unique person you are.
• They are insistent about switching correspondence to their off-site e-mail address or Instant Messenger rather than staying on VeggieConnection.com. (We only accept scam reports due to on-line correspondence. Please keep your correspondence on VeggieConnection.com.)
• The other party mentions that they are currently out of the country feeding orphans in Africa.
• They ask for, or hint, for money.
  Never give money or financial information to a member you've never met!
• They give you a heart wrenching story and end their message oozing with compliments, even though all they hardly know you.
• They live far away yet they're willing to meet you (or ask you to meet them) after only a few messages.
• Their photo is breathtakingly handsome or gorgeous and they're interested in you, someone far away, of average appearance, a wildly different age, and with virtually nothing in common. (Scammers often steal photos from modeling sites.)

Connecting Tips

• Go Slow
  Get to know someone on-line via several exchanges before you make any commitments to meet.
• Don't reveal Personal Information
  Don't disclose your real name, phone number, address, or other personal information until well after you've met and established a trusting relationship.
• Meet in a known public place
  If you both decide to meet, make it a well known public location ( such as Starbucks, Peets, ... ). A location you know nothing about might be in a poor/dangerous neighborhood and should be avoided.