Grindr Scam

[TorontoDrew]

I found an article on Reddit but nothing on here. The last two days I've had three very attractive Asian men contact me on Grindr.  One was nice but after three something smells.  Apparently it starts off with looking for a relationship and ends with Crypto investments.  All started talking about money pretty quickly.  Any one else experiencing this?

 

[MikeBiDude]

Yes, I’ve also had a flurry of Asians reaching out. Yes, they’re looking for a relationship. I never got as far as crypto investing….they felt phony to me early on in the convo and were blocked.

[KeepItReal]

4 hours ago, TorontoDrew said:

I found an article on Reddit but nothing on here. The last two days I've had three very attractive Asian men contact me on Grindr.  One was nice but after three something smells.  Apparently it starts off with looking for a relationship and ends with Crypto investments.  All started talking about money pretty quickly.  Any one else experiencing this?

 

Yes sir.  Happens quite frequently on dating sites too. Finally made it to Grindr. Not just Asian men and  boys, also Ukrainian. Buyer beware!

Edited November 24, 2022 by KeepItReal

[cany10011]

My friend lost 325K in such a scam. The guy was a "hot" Asian model who was living with his uncle on the Upper West Side and he claimed that he couldn't meet because he had covid. My gullible friend kept on sending him money to invest as they were supposed to meet and get married. When it came time to withdraw his money, the model disappeared along with his money. Unfortunately that money is long gone. My friend only confessed to me as he needed to borrow 100K to redeem the lost the money.  I asked him to contact the FBI, which he did, but the FBI stated that this happens a lot and that there is really no way to recover the lost funds. 

Yeah, it's incredulous but these things happen... Another 2 friends of mine got duped one lost 75K and another 100K... and these only happened in a time span of a few months. 

I'm sorry it happened to them... but if i were to depart with any money it better be for a few months of debauchery on a Greek island with the cast of Belami.

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by cany10011

[cany10011]

23 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Yes, I’ve also had a flurry of Asians reaching out. Yes, they’re looking for a relationship. I never got as far as crypto investing….they felt phony to me early on in the convo and were blocked.

They are so sophisticated that they even identified the location of the closest cryptocurrency ATM. Also, they provided scripts for you to know what to say at the bank..... and it appears very kosher. They use real names or real bank individuals (with phone numbers that apparently go to real voicemails that are never answered)....

[Leyte2019]

27 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said:

Yes, I’ve also had a flurry of Asians reaching out. Yes, they’re looking for a relationship. I never got as far as crypto investing….they felt phony to me early on in the convo and were blocked.

It is happening on A4A now, but ethnicities vary

[kingsley88]

1 hour ago, TorontoDrew said:

I found an article on Reddit but nothing on here. The last two days I've had three very attractive Asian men contact me on Grindr.  One was nice but after three something smells.  Apparently it starts off with looking for a relationship and ends with Crypto investments.  All started talking about money pretty quickly.  Any one else experiencing this?

 

whoa. Haven't experienced this but good to know and kudos for you for smelling a scam. I'm curious if you tell them you don't do crypto, will they leave you alone?

[Jaggg]

It's happened to me at least 10 times in the last 2 weeks.  Gorgeous Asian men in Crypto business with their uncle.  Pretty bad English and lots of high-flown love talk.

 

I ask them in Chinese if they are a scam. (Thank you Google Translate!) This usually gets them to delete their profile.

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Jaggg
Spelling errors

[rvwnsd]

45 minutes ago, cany10011 said:

...Also, they provided scripts for you to know what to say at the bank...

Romance scams have been a thing for a few years. So much so that my previous employer (west coast regional bank) provided training to its front-line employees on how to recognize suspicious transactions and how to report. However, all the training in the world can't prevent an insistent customer from executing transactions. The fraudsters know how to groom their victims and provide instructions on how to structure transactions in a way that avoids detection. 

49 minutes ago, cany10011 said:

They are so sophisticated that they even identified the location of the closest cryptocurrency ATM...

And the bank employees can't prevent the customer from making transactions at an ATM. God knows we tried, but at the end of the day the money belongs to the customer, and they can do with it as they please.

[cany10011]

1 minute ago, rvwnsd said:

Romance scams have been a thing for a few years. So much so that my previous employer (west coast regional bank) provided training to its front-line employees on how to recognize suspicious transactions and how to report. However, all the training in the world can't prevent an insistent customer from executing transactions. The fraudsters know how to groom their victims and provide instructions on how to structure transactions in a way that avoids detection. 

And the bank employees can't prevent the customer from making transactions at an ATM. God knows we tried, but at the end of the day the money belongs to the customer, and they can do with it as they please.

It's good we are talking about it so that others are warned. 

[+ DynamicUno]

Crypto is a relatively new angle.  For a long time I was getting the "army guys", who are just waiting to come back home to my welcoming arms.  They followed a pretty predictable script, and I could throw them off just by asking which unit they were in.

 

[themsg]

Same here, also beautiful Asian guys which lead to crypto conversations. The sad thing is it's making it harder to trust anyone who is genuinely nice and not just looking for sex right-now.

[jeanclaude44]

Yep. Seemed scammy after several contacts from beautiful Asian guys with good conversational lines until they all eventually get to cryptocurrency investments.

[+ TooSchoolForCool]

They are going to have to figure out a new scam.  Crypto is going, going.........gone....

[maninsoma]

I hate to "blame the victim," but how naive does someone have to be to start sending money -- especially significant amounts of money -- to someone he's never met?

I get lots of bogus messages on A4A.  My rules are basically this: a) not much info in profile? delete. b) not in my area and no indication they plan to be in my area? delete. c) say they are somewhere near me but the location indicates they are thousands of miles away. delete. d) nothing very personal in first message that would indicate why they liked my profile and decided to message me. delete. e) a photo or two of someone young enough to be my grandson who gushes over my attractiveness. delete.  Maybe I accidentally delete a sincere message by having these standards, but I doubt it.

[cany10011]

39 minutes ago, maninsoma said:

I hate to "blame the victim," but how naive does someone have to be to start sending money -- especially significant amounts of money -- to someone he's never met?

I get lots of bogus messages on A4A.  My rules are basically this: a) not much info in profile? delete. b) not in my area and no indication they plan to be in my area? delete. c) say they are somewhere near me but the location indicates they are thousands of miles away. delete. d) nothing very personal in first message that would indicate why they liked my profile and decided to message me. delete. e) a photo or two of someone young enough to be my grandson who gushes over my attractiveness. delete.  Maybe I accidentally delete a sincere message by having these standards, but I doubt it.

I feel the same. Without any tangible interaction, I’m loathe to even spend a dime on any form of virtual exchange/entertainment. If they were to start asking for $, I delete the message immediately. 

[MikeBiDude]

I won’t even send Seeking Arrangements possible gents $20 for gas before meeting! There’s a gas gift card waiting for them when we meet…on the chance things go badly and we don’t continue the pursuit.

[+ Coolwave35]

2 hours ago, rvwnsd said:

And the bank employees can't prevent the customer from making transactions. God knows we tried, but at the end of the day the money belongs to the customer, and they can do with it as they please.

Interestingly enough, last year when I did my survivor weekend with 10 strippers, I had to withdraw almost 6 figures of cash from my bank. The bank manager, who I consider a friend, called me into his office and asked me a bunch of questions. He asked if I was in trouble, if my family was safe.  He apologized for being pushy and said he just wanted to make sure I recognized that I’d never see this money again. 
 

There was concern in his voice and I was curious if this unusual transaction sparked something in him that made him suspicious, or if there was training he had to follow. 

[Beancounter]

13 hours ago, Coolwave35 said:

Interestingly enough, last year when I did my survivor weekend with 10 strippers, I had to withdraw almost 6 figures of cash from my bank. The bank manager, who I consider a friend, called me into his office and asked me a bunch of questions. He asked if I was in trouble, if my family was safe.  He apologized for being pushy and said he just wanted to make sure I recognized that I’d never see this money again. 
 

There was concern in his voice and I was curious if this unusual transaction sparked something in him that made him suspicious, or if there was training he had to follow. 

Im sure the banker was sincere in looking out for your best interests.   The bank manager has probably seen plenty of individuals who’ve been scammed.  Ultimately it’s your money to do with as you germ fit.  
 

Not a banker here but I seem to remember that all transactions in excess of $10,000 have to be reported to some government agency.  Transactions like you’re talking about do not go unnoticed.  

[bobsboy51]

14 hours ago, Coolwave35 said:

 

There was concern in his voice and I was curious if this unusual transaction sparked something in him that made him suspicious, or if there was training he had to follow. 

I'm pretty sure it was both.  I've worked in banking all my life (not the branch side) but all banks require training on such suspicious or 'out of the ordinary' activities.  The latest focus is all about elder/vulnerable adult abuse, along with various scam training.  The questions he asked you point to that exactly.  He did the right thing for sure as I'm sure it was a huge red flag for him.  The horror stories I've heard over the years are so very sad.

[+ Coolwave35]

19 minutes ago, bobsboy51 said:

I'm pretty sure it was both.  I've worked in banking all my life (not the branch side) but all banks require training on such suspicious or 'out of the ordinary' activities.  The latest focus is all about elder/vulnerable adult abuse, along with various scam training.  The questions he asked you point to that exactly.  He did the right thing for sure as I'm sure it was a huge red flag for him.  The horror stories I've heard over the years are so very sad.

I was really appreciative. Upon later realizing he was bi, I have since told him what the money was for. We’re around the same age. He approved lol 

[+ Pensant]

On 11/23/2022 at 4:47 PM, cany10011 said:

It's good we are talking about it so that others are warned. 

Thankfully I’m super paranoid about these things. I never downloaded Grinder. And any crypto offers are immediately deleted and ignored. I never invest in things I don’t completely understand. My former business partner lost at least a million to various overseas “romance” scams while drinking himself to death.

[liubit]

This scam is not limited to Grindr. Several months ago, a non-commercial Romeo guy in Hong Kong (where I live) contacted me for a hook-up. He sent me hot pictures of “himself” and, after some rounds of texting, suddenly turned on to finances, promising we could make a bundle of money together if we invested in crypto. I didn’t really understand, but I uncomfortably followed his game, to see where this might lead me, always under the assumption that we would meet (the guy in the pictures was fucking hot and my little head was doing the thinking). He took me to a website, asked me to introduce ”his” id and password, and “guided” me all the way to purchase bitcoins. It was a long ride, screenshot by screenshot, and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable every step of the way. Of course, the time came when he said I should exchange at least 20 thousand real US dollars into crypto currency. Fortunately that’s when my big head took over and I cut the guy short. He was amazingly pissed, and he started playing the emotional card -why don’t you trust me, I am so disappointed in you, I feel so hurt kind of BS-, but I didn’t give in and blocked him. 

A few weeks later, another HK guy showed up with exactly the same scenario, and later on a third and even a fourth. All of them stunningly gorgeous, eager to make me incredibly wealthy, and so disappointed that I didn’t follow through. Fortunately, I didn’t fall for any of them and didn’t lose a cent. 

[caliguy]

On 11/23/2022 at 2:41 PM, Jaggg said:

It's happened to me at least 10 times in the last 2 weeks.  Gorgeous Asian men in Crypto business with their uncle.  Pretty bad English and lots of high-flown love talk.

 

I ask them in Chinese if they are a scam. (Thank you Google Translate!) This usually gets them to delete their profile.

 

At least they're getting that right. I just get these skanky looking Asian women harassing me. At least give me some good eye candy!

[caliguy]

On 11/23/2022 at 1:50 PM, cany10011 said:

My friend lost 325K in such a scam. The guy was a "hot" Asian model who was living with his uncle on the Upper West Side and he claimed that he couldn't meet because he had covid. My gullible friend kept on sending him money to invest as they were supposed to meet and get married. When it came time to withdraw his money, the model disappeared along with his money. Unfortunately that money is long gone. My friend only confessed to me as he needed to borrow 100K to redeem the lost the money.  I asked him to contact the FBI, which he did, but the FBI stated that this happens a lot and that there is really no way to recover the lost funds. 

Yeah, it's incredulous but these things happen... Another 2 friends of mine got duped one lost 75K and another 100K... and these only happened in a time span of a few months. 

I'm sorry it happened to them... but if i were to depart with any money it better be for a few months of debauchery on a Greek island with the cast of Belami.

 

Wow. Not even a sophisticated scam. I always wonder why they keep bothering me. I mean who could be so stupid to fall for such obvious scams. I guess all it takes is one success out of hundreds of tries.