Be careful out there
Scammers take advantage of people looking for romantic partners, often through dating sites, apps or social media, by posing as potential companions. They play on emotional triggers to get you to give money, gifts or personal information.

Dating and romance scams often take place through online dating sites, but scammers can also use social media or email to make contact. They have even been known to call their victims as a first introduction. These scams are also known as 'catfishing'.

SmilingDating.com has developed several filters and algorithms that quickly catch illegal scammers, which can only work if people with malicious intent get through our fake profile check. - If you still get, even a small suspicion, we will greatly appreciate you informing us as soon as possible - - We help you and you help others, - the same person is often in the process of defrauding several profiles.

Sex extortion - or "sextortion" - is when unauthorized people gain access to private photos or videos with sexual content and threaten to publish them if the victims do not send more photos or pay a sum of money.

This is how sexual blackmail works
The contact is created, for example, on Facebook, Chatroulette or another social media, but also pay attention here on SmilingDating.com.

 The perpetrator uses a fake profile with a fake picture of himself
Once the contact is established, you will often be asked to move to a more private forum with a webcam, for example Skype
Here you exchange sexual images and/or film clips. It will often be a gradual process where both parties hand over nude material
The perpetrator saves or records material and then blackmails the victim by saying that the video or images will be published or sent to friends, family and colleagues unless you pay
In other cases, the perpetrator will demand new sexual images instead of money, and in the worst cases, the victim may be pressured to meet the perpetrator in the real world.

The perpetrator is often adept at manipulation, and once contact is made, it can be very difficult to discern whether it is a criminal or a real relationship. It is also not possible in practice to prevent images and films from spreading once they have been shared.


If you are blackmailed

Stop communication
Don't share more
Don't pay anything
Document the incident with screen dumps and saved messages
Get help and talk to someone about it
Report the crime to the police.

If you experience or suspect a profile that could have "suspicious" intentions, then you must report it to Dating@SmilingDating.com, we will take care of the matter immediately, and may be able to find the person behind it.