ProtectMyID

Dating is hard enough without the potential of crime attached to it. Imagine going out on a date and having your identity stolen. That’s what happened to one nice guy who finished last.

He’s on a date with a girl he knew, but not too well. She suggests they meet up at the mall. She has a little shopping to do, Mr. non-shopper says he’ll wait for her in the shoe section. As date girl shops, she tells the clerk “they” forgot their store credit card. The over-eager sales clerk offers to “look it up for them.” Mr. Nice Guy smiles and watches from his comfy chair in the shoe section as date thief slyly charges thousands on his store credit card. It’s not until a month later when he gets his statement in the mail that he realizes just how bad the date went. Adding salt to the wound, the store would not reverse the charges because they had video of him in the store with the woman at the time the purchases were made. Needless to say, Mr. Nice Guy has since sworn off dating – and shopping.

“Sweetheart Scammers”,  as the FBI calls them, are unfortunately out there – especially online. Yet that doesn’t mean you have to give up on love; just be extra careful not to share your personally identifiable information – driver’s license, Social Security Number, credit cards – with any of your dates. It could end up costing you a lot more than dinner and a movie.