Scammed by a Holiday Romance?

It’s one of those things all single people probably think of when going on holiday – the ubiquitous holiday romance. But in some cases, a fun filled fortnight can lead to a fraught return home. Don’t be scammed into believing that one of the locals has fallen head over heels when in some cases he or she might just love what you can do for them...

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Groups of girls abroad, middle aged women looking for love, lonely divorcees looking for a bit of a fling. All these people are ripe for a little bit of scam action by locals, well aware that their jaded tourist visitors are open to suggestion if they bat their dark handsome lashes seductively and hand out a few trusty compliments.

It’s hard to advise without being thought prejudiced but some of the African and Middle Eastern countries are well known for their holiday romance scams. Take a trip to morocco, Gambia, or Egypt alone as a female and you’ll find that you’re suddenly the most attractive woman on the resort, even if you’ve failed to get a date back home in months. They can flatter you and may well genuinely think you are amazing but be on your guard. Most men in these countries are trustworthy; it’s just the few that prey on gullible tourists that are to blame for the scams we hear about.

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What to look Out For

In many countries, sex before marriage is frowned upon, and men are expected to marry a virgin. The attraction of a European visitor with less demanding morals is like honey to a bee and they can promise all sorts of things if you’ll just sleep with them. Although this isn’t a scam, exactly, and could just as easily happen in the local night club, don’t be taken in by declarations of love. The local girls won’t have sex with them – you will.

Many men in foreign countries seem to think that all tourists are wealthy, and therefore target foreigners to try and scam money from them. Be very wary of the gorgeous young tour guide who just needs to borrow some money to get him through university; the waiter who needs money to help him set up his own business or buy a car to get into the city for work. It’s probably a well-practised line and if you are in a relationship of sorts, the word ‘wife’ or ‘girlfriend’ can often mean, ‘personal banker’. Any mention of money when you’ve been ‘dating’ a man on holiday for three days must be treated with extreme caution!

In some cases it’s not your money they want it’s a passport out of whichever country they are living in. These men are even more likely to go down the ‘will you marry me’ route and try to make an honest woman out of you so that they can scam you into moving them over to the UK and out of their own country.

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It’s Not Just Women that Get Scammed

It isn’t just women who are lured into love and romance by conmen in foreign climes – men too can be victims of scams that cost them a great deal of cash as well as their pride. The prime spots for men are South Asian countries (the typical places are Thailand with the girlie bars and sex tourism trade) and eastern European countries where unsuspecting and often desperate men hook up with willing sexual partners, often for money and convince themselves that their protestations of love are genuine.

How to Avoid Being Scammed

Keep your ego under wraps. It’s not nice to have to be so suspicious and of course genuine holiday romances can and do happen – even marriages. The trouble is, in many cases people suspend judgement while abroad and do things with people that they would never consider at home. If your holiday crush mentions money, marriage or how much he/she would love to move to England in the first few hours, walk away.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Scam Detector lets you got a text, call, email or offer that feels off? Paste it in below and we will tell you how scammy it looks, the warning signs to spot, and exactly what to do next. Try it now →