Cam Girl Voting/Viewer scam
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to Fraud Fridays! Today on the docket: Cam Girl Voting/Viewer scam! If you've been to any websites that host adult content or have read our Fraud Friday post from 12/9/2022, you have likely been made aware of the Identity Verification Scam. The Cam Girl Voting scam is a different take on the same scam. This one based through dating apps and messaging services! So, what’s the hook? A pretty face.
You’ve scoured the barren wastes of the 21st century dating sphere for months, years. Feels much longer than it has been. Beaten, weary, and downtrodden, you leave your ten-hour shift with bleary eyes and only a shred of consciousness remaining. The drive, autonomous, but you’ve made it home. Must have done something right. After your long shift, you go to relax with a stiff drink, a cigar, and once again try your luck in the worst lottery of the 21st century. Tinder. You intently watch the small ember on the loading screen while recounting your past “matches” that went up in flames. Hope of a random, fateful encounter, now lost to time.
In the pits of despair, your app finally loads. *Ding* Matched. Your eyes of bewilderment betray your usually stoic expression. Not expecting much, you swipe to see who the match is with. To your amazement, you are met with a pretty face. Only a few pictures, certainly not enough to know a lot about the person, but enough to insight interest. You move to send them a message and receive a prompt reply. As the conversation continues, you notice that the conversation isn’t fully connecting. Sometimes their replies simply don’t make sense; however, you steady on. Afterall, nothing comes to a person who doesn’t take risk, so you’ve been told. Maybe they’re nervous, or they’re as new to this digital age of dating as you are.
As the conversation unfolds, they send you a link. This may come as an invitation to “watch a private, sexy show,” or “verify your age for their safety.” A show is certainly enticing, and you can never too careful with phishing scams about. Verification sounds legitimate. When you arrive to the landing page, you will be asked to input your credit card information to “verify you are at least 18.” After this page, another asking for more personal information. The main, visible parts of the website claiming that it is completely free at no risk! Surely, you can trust it!
SPOILER ALERT: You can’t trust it. This scam, as stated earlier, is similar to the Identity Verification Scam that we covered on 12/9/2022. I will spare you the technobabble. For a more thorough explanation, please check out our previous post. The coding of this landing page is deliberately designed to make the fine print nigh impossible to find. This fine print would inform you of a subscription service for a pornographic streaming site that the scammer receives kickbacks from. These subscriptions will charge you between $20-80 each month. Of course, because you are not aware that you’ve signed up, these charges will accrue until you realize on your next statement. Scams like these are the exact reason that you should check your account and go through your recent transactions every day.
This scam is particularly egregious as it caters towards some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. People who are just looking for mutual love. No matter what people say, it’s hard to exist in the modern dating scene. Especially when there are malicious actors online trying to take advantage of you. This scam has no care for age or any other factor. Only whether there is money to steal. Please stay safe and vigilant when online and remember that you are appreciated.
If you’ve read through this entire essay, thank you very much. I hope it was at least informative, if not an interesting read.