SALT LAKE CITY — Valentine’s Day is less than a month away, which means it’s time for us lonely hearts to start the process of finding a date for the big day.

In the good old days, that would mean we’d up our game by getting out and being a bit more sociable in hopes of finding our perfect match. In today’s world, the process of finding your next fling or serious relationship typically begins with a right swipe.

Although reports show that Utah is one of the safest states for online daters (we rank the fourth safest in the nation), there are still quite a few risks involved with using online means to meet your match, regardless of where you live. That’s why it’s important for online daters to proceed with caution in order to protect themselves from scams and other threats.

Here are some of the most common scams targeting online daters this year and a few tips on how you can avoid falling victim to one or more of them:

Catfishing

By now, many of us are familiar with the term “catfish” and what it entails. Although we all know there are individuals out there posing as others in hopes of duping unsuspecting online daters, there are still many people falling for catfishing scams on a daily basis. The worst part is, many catfish present more of a threat than just a broken heart.

Many fake accounts are created in an effort to set the scene for more serious scams that involve blackmailing and fund transfers. This is why it is of the utmost importance to verify that the individual you’re speaking with online is a real person and not just a fake account.

One of the best ways to catch a catfish is to run a reverse image search on the profile image of the account. This will show you where else the image shows up online so you can see if it has been stolen from someone else.

Disclosure of private conversations

Experts say one of the most common first steps a scammer will take in his or her scam is to ask you to take the conversation off of the app or site you’re currently communicating on. This is because dating apps often have a way of identifying sketchy user behavior that other forms of communication don’t track.

Once an individual has you offline, they can record any of your phone discussions, take screenshots of your text conversations and save any images you send them in an effort to blackmail you later on.

The best course of action is to avoid discussing personal matters and to keep your communication limited to the bounds of the website or app you used to find the person with whom you’re speaking. Although it might be tempting to take your conversation offline, sticking to the app or website will help you keep your private information from being compromised.

Personal emergency scams

Although it might seem unlikely that anyone would fall for the old trick of sending money to someone online, scammers are getting savvier by the minute and finding ways to dupe individuals who honestly should know better than to send funds to a stranger.

Modern scammers will speak with online daters for months before finally asking them to send a little cash to help them with a personal emergency. Before they ask, they’ll often send flowers and gifts to make them seem like a real person with a legitimate interest in the individual with whom they’re chatting.

In order to avoid starting a relationship with a fake profile, you will need to do a little research on new people with whom you begin speaking. Of course, checking out their social media profiles should be your first step, but those can be pretty easy to fake, so you will want to dig a little deeper.

There are lots of free tools you can use to find out more about the person with whom you’re speaking. Run each potential online date through your own mini-investigation process to confirm their validity before things get serious.

Requests to reship merchandise

In some cases, online scammers will create a fake profile and build a relationship with their target before asking them to reship merchandise. Fraudulent reshippers might ask you to help their business or family by receiving packages and mailing them to a foreign address on behalf of a client, using postage-paid mailing labels provided via email.

Although the request seems innocent enough, the individual sending the item is actually looping themselves into criminal activity. The packages many times contain merchandise bought with stolen credit cards or counterfeit postal money orders. This is another scam that was once common in email schemes, but is now more dangerous than ever in the online dating world.

Online daters are more vulnerable to dubious requests from scammers in this instance because they believe they’ve started a legitimate online relationship and are more likely to trust the scammer than they would a stranger. Once again, research is key to make sure the person you’re speaking with isn’t a scammer.

Valentine’s Day tends to inspire a little extra effort to find someone with whom you can share the most romantic time of the year. Although online dating can be an excellent way to find people who might be solid prospects for a date in the future, be sure to keep your safety in mind as you look for your next love interest online.

SALT LAKE CITY — Valentine’s Day is less than a month away, which means it’s time for us lonely hearts to start the process of finding a date for the big day.

In the good old days, that would mean we’d up our game by getting out and being a bit more sociable in hopes of finding our perfect match. In today’s world, the process of finding your next fling or serious relationship typically begins with a right swipe.

Although reports show that Utah is one of the safest states for online daters (we rank the fourth safest in the nation), there are still quite a few risks involved with using online means to meet your match, regardless of where you live. That’s why it’s important for online daters to proceed with caution in order to protect themselves from scams and other threats.

Here are some of the most common scams targeting online daters this year and a few tips on how you can avoid falling victim to one or more of them:

Catfishing

By now, many of us are familiar with the term “catfish” and what it entails. Although we all know there are individuals out there posing as others in hopes of duping unsuspecting online daters, there are still many people falling for catfishing scams on a daily basis. The worst part is, many catfish present more of a threat than just a broken heart.

Many fake accounts are created in an effort to set the scene for more serious scams that involve blackmailing and fund transfers. This is why it is of the utmost importance to verify that the individual you’re speaking with online is a real person and not just a fake account.

One of the best ways to catch a catfish is to run a reverse image search on the profile image of the account. This will show you where else the image shows up online so you can see if it has been stolen from someone else.

Disclosure of private conversations

Experts say one of the most common first steps a scammer will take in his or her scam is to ask you to take the conversation off of the app or site you’re currently communicating on. This is because dating apps often have a way of identifying sketchy user behavior that other forms of communication don’t track.

Once an individual has you offline, they can record any of your phone discussions, take screenshots of your text conversations and save any images you send them in an effort to blackmail you later on.

The best course of action is to avoid discussing personal matters and to keep your communication limited to the bounds of the website or app you used to find the person with whom you’re speaking. Although it might be tempting to take your conversation offline, sticking to the app or website will help you keep your private information from being compromised.

Personal emergency scams

Although it might seem unlikely that anyone would fall for the old trick of sending money to someone online, scammers are getting savvier by the minute and finding ways to dupe individuals who honestly should know better than to send funds to a stranger.

Modern scammers will speak with online daters for months before finally asking them to send a little cash to help them with a personal emergency. Before they ask, they’ll often send flowers and gifts to make them seem like a real person with a legitimate interest in the individual with whom they’re chatting.

In order to avoid starting a relationship with a fake profile, you will need to do a little research on new people with whom you begin speaking. Of course, checking out their social media profiles should be your first step, but those can be pretty easy to fake, so you will want to dig a little deeper.

There are lots of free tools you can use to find out more about the person with whom you’re speaking. Run each potential online date through your own mini-investigation process to confirm their validity before things get serious.

Requests to reship merchandise

In some cases, online scammers will create a fake profile and build a relationship with their target before asking them to reship merchandise. Fraudulent reshippers might ask you to help their business or family by receiving packages and mailing them to a foreign address on behalf of a client, using postage-paid mailing labels provided via email.

Although the request seems innocent enough, the individual sending the item is actually looping themselves into criminal activity. The packages many times contain merchandise bought with stolen credit cards or counterfeit postal money orders. This is another scam that was once common in email schemes, but is now more dangerous than ever in the online dating world.

Online daters are more vulnerable to dubious requests from scammers in this instance because they believe they’ve started a legitimate online relationship and are more likely to trust the scammer than they would a stranger. Once again, research is key to make sure the person you’re speaking with isn’t a scammer.

Valentine’s Day tends to inspire a little extra effort to find someone with whom you can share the most romantic time of the year. Although online dating can be an excellent way to find people who might be solid prospects for a date in the future, be sure to keep your safety in mind as you look for your next love interest online.