Sugar Scams
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to Fraud Fridays! As Valentine's is fast approaching, we will be discussing some romance scams this week and next. Today on the docket: Sugar Scams.
Content warning: The words "Daddy" and "Momma" will be used under sexual connotations. If this bugs you, discretion is advised.
This is a prevalent scam across many dating sites. A scam that revolves around "sugaring." If you don't know what that is, you are not alone. It is a type of relationship that sees young folks, calling themselves "sugar babies," look for older folks, who are referred to as "sugar daddies" or "sugar mommas." The arrangement differs from couple to couple, but the concept is generally the same. Gifts and cash for companionship. Companionship, in this sense, may or may not involve sexual relations. Again, the arrangement changes between couples. Despite some people's reservations on the subject, websites such as seeking-dot-com (also known as Seeking Arrangements) have seen over 4 million consistent accounts since 2017. Slightly over 27% of these accounts were those of college students as of 2017.
Given their rise in popularity and the inherent sensitivities around these websites, many scammers have taken to preying on this community. So, how does it work?
There're a couple different ways that this scam will present itself, so I'll be covering one version of this scam.
Sugar Baby vs. Scammer: In this variant, the Scammer poses as a prospective sugar parent, nurturing a relationship between them and their mark. Ultimately, they will offer to pay off the credit card balance of their sugar baby victim. If their mark falls for it, the scammer will have the baby's credit card account information and be able to deposit funds to the account. This will make it look like the card was paid off to the sugar baby. So, it's paid off and there's nothing to worry about, right? You couldn't be more wrong.
The next step for the scammer will be to request the sugar baby for a favor in return. This is usually in the form of gift cards (usually apple, googly play, or steam cards). So, now the sugar baby has a credit card that seems to have been paid off by their new Sugar daddy/momma, and their daddy has requested they now buy gift cards. Makes sense, right? Wrong. That payment is still pending from the account that it is alleging to come from. That account, however, is not an existent account. This means that the credit card company will reverse the pay-off when they realize that it's a non-existent account. Thus, the poor sugar baby will be on the line for the full pay-off along with the amount for the gift cards. Many sugar babies who did not comply immediately with the request for gift cards reported being berated, insulted, and threatened until they caved in.
I cannot recommend looking for these types of arrangements online, but if you are a free and consenting adult, go for it. I only ask that you keep in mind these red flags:
1.) If a new romantic interest asks for your credit card account credentials or any other sensitive information such as bank routing information, Social Security number, home address, or cell phone number, it’s likely a scam.
2.) If a “sugar daddy” offers to pay off one or more of your debts (such as credit card balances, student loans, rent, etc.), there’s an enormous possibility it’s a scam.
3.) If your “sugar daddy” urges you to move conversations that began on dating websites on to email, IM, text message, or over the phone, it’s very likely a scam.
4.) Never share sensitive photographs or text messages that you wouldn’t want to be viewable publicly with a sugar daddy or other online suitor.
With this information in hand, I hope you all stay safe from romance scams this season! Come back next week when we discuss more romance scams! Thank you and have a wonderful night!