Imagine the bank machine refusing to pay out on your request for a withdrawal, 'there is not enough funds in your account'!

A terrible feeling churns your gut, because you are certain you have more than enough in your account.

Inside the bank, an assistant prints out your history statements, and the facts jump out at you in bold black letters. A steady stream of withdrawals, have been made from ATM's in a different area of the country.

Realization crashes down like a blacksmiths hammer. You suddenly remember, the person whom you put so much trust into, whilst romancing online, lives there.

All the promises and regular contact seemed to die down, after you agreed to vote for them in a charity competition. It was strange that the site you were given a link to, asked for your bank card details, but your cyber love assured you it was just for verification and was perfectly safe.

In reality, you have just been hit by a professional scammer, who has probably led so many others down the same path.

Duplicate cards are made and acquired account numbers punched in. Security numbers are usually down to guesswork from birth dates gleaned from casual conversation in the stages of cyber chat. Two tries without a bite and the card is used to purchase in shops.

Online fraud is not just confined to the obvious email scams, emanating from unfortunate African citizens, whose fathers has been murdered and left a fortune and need your bank account to siphon their inheritance out of the country.

The latest craze is the old bogus lottery wins from free draws. In order for the company's solicitors to process your claim, they need payment from you to cover the legal costs and taxes, which of course reveals your account details too.

Unfortunately the email scammers are setting up false accounts, using many email addresses, and posing as genuine members of chat and dating sites.

The usual spiel is, "I have looked at your profile and feel that we could become very personal, my email address is _ _ _ _ _ @ scamail.com, please contact me with yours. Maybe only 10% out of a thousand will bite, but that gives them 100 fresh emails to spam the hell out of.

Here is just one example of an obvious straight hit message, hoping that the receiver will respond with kindness. I cannot name the actual chat site or the bogus account name, suffice to say, I have blocked the sender and reported it to the administrators.

Dear Friend .

I am Mrs.******, on behalf of myself and my only child mr. salem Jr i am contacting you to assist me to transfer the fund which my late husband deposited in a bank here before his untimely death , i am a widow a nationality i'voirians my late husband mr. Salem ******t was a femous politican and successful business-man whom before he was poised during his political party meeting in septmber 2005 was cocoa, gold and diamond merchant based here in abidjan,coted' i'voire before he died under mistrious sickness in a private hospital here in abidjan.

Before he died he called me and our only child salem Jr of 8 years old son and told me that he deposited a sum of ( $18 million usd.) in a bank here in abidjan which he used my name as next of kin . After the succesful transfer of the the fund with your assistance to your nominated bank account in your country i will give you 20% of the total money .You will also assist me and my son to come over to your country to start a new life and investments projects of the fund with you, while my son will continue his education in your country .

If you can assist me please kindly write me back for more information on how the transfer could be carried out through my private email address : (mrs.sarah4******@yahoo.fr)

I am waiting for your urgent reply .

Best Regards

Sarah

Before you start panicking and closing down your online social network accounts, please realize that the existence of online fraud is a mere drop in the ocean, compared to the millions of genuine people who have been liberated by the freedom of the internet.

Follow the five star rules, as follows, and you should enjoy the real benefits of online socializing, which may bring you closer to finding your perfect friend or future partner.

• As in any offline conversation with someone whom you have just met, you must take your time and try to evaluate the manner in which they reply to your comments. The advantage of online chatting is that you may copy the conversation and paste each session into a word document to evaluate if they are genuine in their intentions.
• Further chats may reveal the real person behind the written words. If he or she portrays their feelings of giving help to anyone, without asking for reward, you may assume the person is worth committing further time towards what could be a good relationship. On the other hand, if they display a persona of self appraisal, without enquiring of your feelings, they are selfish and not worth the effort.
• Determine your own reasons for participating in the chatting experience. Profiles usually reveal a person's desires; therefore you befriend only those with similar ideals in life. Dating service software is designed to filter your matches.
• Always be on your guard for the soft touch. If after only a few sessions, your correspondent suddenly announces that they are falling in love with you, take it with a pinch of salt. At best they may be trying to get away from another failing relationship, which is not a show of faith for you, more like escapism. At worst, they may be seeking emotional or financial assistance.

Never reveal your personal details to anyone for any reason whatsoever. It is perfectly acceptable to tell a white lie about your year of birth (within reason), and if you are asked to donate a small sum towards a charity, send a postal order, if you feel compelled to, but really, no loving relationship should begin with such a request before you have met the person in the flesh, so beware!

There are so many beauties in online dating, outweighing the beasties, which I shall comment on in further articles shortly. Common sense should prevail in matters of the heart and I feel that to be cautious is to be true to oneself.

A final thought;-

THROW YOUR SOUL TO THE WIND AND THE DEVIL MAY CATCH IT.