It seems odd. Why would online dating be considered a high risk credit card processor? People create profiles, share pictures and details about their lives. Not exactly the ideal environment for credit card fraud and chargebacks.
Yet the answer is actually surprising. Online dating sites are the new frontier for Nigerian scams. 10 years ago the emails of untold fortunes for just a small amount upfront became national news and later a national joke. However, as this scam has become more and more publicized, these scammers looked to other avenues to make connections.
Online dating sites became a great way for these ill intentioned individuals to find lonely and vulnerable individuals. They flooded these online dating sites with fake profiles, using stolen credit cards and images. Some experts estimate that as many as 1 in 10 profiles aren’t real and tens of millions of dollars exchange hands through these online scams.
Scary stuff…. http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2015/online-dating-scam.html
Doug Shadel and David Dudley – AARP