A Kerry Senator was left horrified after he was made aware that his pictures were being used on a Tinder profile to scam women out of thousands.
Senator Mark Daly was made aware of the scam after he was contacted by a news outlet investigating the claims.
Stuff reported that several women had been conned out of millions of dollars through a Tinder swindler scam, including two women from New Zealand, Joanna and Donna.
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It claims that both women were tricked into handing over €500,000 each to the men they met through the dating site.
Joanna says she was conned by a man named Dale Plumides, who sent a number of photos he claimed were him and his family, as well as fake videos.
The images actually turned out to be that of Mark Cain, a 54-year-old real estate agent in Dallas, Stuff reports.
Donna, on the other hand, was allegedly sent images of Irish senator Mark Daly.
After being contacted by Stuff over the phone, Mr Daly was left shocked to learn that his image was being used.
He said: "Oh Christ, OK… what the hell is that for?... I'm not a US citizen for a start…," he said while looking at the photos.
He then said he would read through the articles and call Stuff back, but the outlet says it was unable to reach him again.
Mr Daly told The Irish Times on Sunday that the matter had been referred to gardai.
He said: “I am obviously horrified at the idea that unbeknown to me my image could be used in such awful activity especially where people have been defrauded. I am genuinely shocked that my picture could be taken and used like this,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know any more about how this happened at this moment but my hope is that the authorities will get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.”
Joanne said it was clear the scam had impacted many people, not just the women targeted.
People are advised to watch out for warning signs of scams like these.
These include:
- People who always have excuses about why they can't meet you in person or even video call
- Those who are often in a hard-to-reach place (e.g. working on oil rigs, in the military, working overseas)
- People who always have a sob story (e.g. a child or family member is sick), and there's always a degree of urgency
Police also advised those looking for love online to:
- Be careful what you post and make public on the internet. Scammers can use details shared on social media and dating sites to better understand and target you
- Research the person's photo and profile using online searches to see if the image, name, or details have been used elsewhere
- Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to communicate directly
- Note if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you
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