Nigerian "419" Scam Affects Online Dating. Man in Canada gets Last Laugh

There are very few people left in the modern world who have not opened an enticing email claiming that they have won an international lottery or offering a percentage of a large amount of escrow capital. Often, these types of dishonest solicitations originate in Nigeria where scamming Westerners is a huge industry. The variety of ways in which such scams are perpetrated is seemingly endless, and it was interesting and saddening to hear a story of one such scam the started as a man took his first step into online dating in Canada.

A recently divorced individual from Ontario was lonely one night, and he decided to see what all the commotion surrounding internet dating in Canada was all about. He was lonely and looking for a bit of companionship to get him through the long and lonely winter. After spending hours going through all the big online dating companies, he finally picked one and paid his money to join. It did not take long before he got an encouraging message from a cute lady who claimed to live several hundred miles away. The man was excited to get any attention, but he found it strange that a fellow Canadian would have such poor grammar and English skills. It was soon forgotten when his online friend's son got into a terrible accident overseas.

Many of us are very sympathetic, but the man in our story was well-versed in all the ways that people try to steal money from others. Through some research and a few pointed questions, he was able to find out that his new acquaintance was actually logging on to a computer in Lagos, Nigeria. Understanding that country's reputation for scams, he decided to turn the tables on this lady, and he acted like he was going to send her money. It took several weeks before the perpetrator realized she was the one getting scammed, and in the process she wasted countless hours and real money on internet fees.

Fortunately, this story does have a happy ending. Although our protagonist was initially disillusioned with online dating in Canada, he got back on the horse and found the free dating website http://www.kisscafe.com. While everything on this site is at no cost to members, he was especially fond of the video-chat function - the website he was almost scammed on did not have this option. Now, before he even starts talking seriously with anyone, he hits them up on video-chat to make sure they are who they claim they are. This is a great way to stay protected if one is online dating in Canada.

Of course, most people who are dating online in Canada are legitimate singles looking for love. KissCafe is a community of individuals who look after each other, and it is clean of nefarious practices like deception and scamming. In general, dating in Canada is safe and fun, but people must always be aware of who they are dealing with on the internet.