I always give out phone numbers and email addresses to scammers. Not my own... just those of people I really dislike.

My best way to spot scammers is, ask a very specific question, my fav being "Tell me about your favorite pet as a child". What Real person wouldn't love the opportunity to babble on about their gerbil? Or whatever.
A scammer, having no time, will say something like "How wonderful we have so many things in common, my dear" or ignore the question completely. BLOCK!

#1 sign of fakery on this and other sites is, "Hey, I'd like to know more about you. Can we exchange numbers and move off this site?"

I've been in lending for years. Lenders have tools to skip trace (track down non paying people). There is a program called LexisNexus. This is a SCARY program/company because they warehouse data of all sorts. One lender I worked for years ago used it in their collections department. My forte is not collections but with this lender I had to know their systems so I could effectively run the place... A small local lender that used to be in Maryland.

When I was shown LexisNexus I tried it out... On me! I typed in just my first and last name and city and state. I was blown away by all the info it had on me. My SSN, every friend I ever had, neighbors, family, what accounts I had, every place I have ever lived, etc. That is just with a name and city/state.

You better be DAMNED sure you know who you are talking to these days! I can tell you that as a fact! I know the ropes and the safeguards and was still the object of identity theft a few years back... $20k on 2 of my credit cards. Imagine carrying a zero balance and the next month you see they are maxxed out! I was pissed! Easy to fix but a pain in the ass to deal with!

EVERYONE should go to one of the big three credit reporting agencies; Equifax, Experian or Trans Union (I'd recommend Equifax) and request your free credit report. By asking one, they will, in turn, request it from the other two. If you see something out of line, dispute it. You can also ask for a fraud alert to be placed on your credit bureaus so that nobody will extend credit without personally calling you first. This will not stop someone from scamming you if they get your credit card numbers though.

Don't ever "donate" to anyone on the phone and don't ever tell them your name. When I get a call and they ask, "Is this Rick"... I always immediately ask them to put me on their do not call list and then I block their number.

Some of this is elementary... But you would be surprised how much little info they need to scam you!

EDIT - Another scary thing... Google images. On sites like this you should use only pictures taken specifically for this site. If you use a corporate head shot you are done! You can snip a picture here... Upload it to Google Images and it will show you EVERY instance where it appears on the web. Maybe your LinkedIn profile or your Facebook profile. The world can be a scary place these days!

That's the best way to determine if one is a scammer. If you give them your personal information and they use it, they're definitely a scammer. If not, they're cool.

To this end, anybody can PM me for my credit card info.

This site is often rife with scammers, as is any venue that offers the option of matchmaking. After a while we get a little more adept at quickly recognizing them.

There's only hot single ladies I'm my area so I'm safe !!!

I just had a cute 26 year old ask me to go off-site. I turned"her" in to admin. She's gone

Fortunately, scammers that come here are pretty easy to tell and the seasoned members spot them very quickly (and report them). But it's like a game of whack-a-mole so new ones keep popping up. Unfortunately, sometimes members who are not scammers get targetted by accident. We can get rather paranoid.

A few general internet rules:

1. Get and use a "throwaway" email address. One you would have no issue abandoning. Only use it for contact with strangers. If you want to know how quickly someone can find out too much, google your current email address.

2. Get a "pay as you go" burner phone. NEVER use any phone # that you have had for a while. Phone numbers are unique. They are the new social security numbers for identifying you.

3. Stay within the site's (any site) GUI (internal message system) as long as possible, then move to your temp email address. You should have a video chat with someone before letting them know your burner phone #

Anyone that moves faster than your schedule should be suspect.

One thing that I have done for years is never give out an email or phone number. I've had them insist, saying that they don't check their email/messages on the site; I don't budge. But then again, I'm a paranoid person, and prefer being that way over being scammed/hacked.

I'm just going to put it out there, not to scare you but as a statement of fact, that based solely on information you have already presented here, basically anyone can track you and your identity. Forget telling them your phone number, I can say with some confidence I already know what it is, as well as other things like your address and relatives.

If you want to maintain your privacy in this new information age, you can not take a passive role. You have to be active and vigilant. There are many good tips here by others. I would strongly recommend doing all of them, as well as doing an internet search of yourself and requesting every site that has your information and either review it for accuracy or request it be redacted or pulled. Removing this data entirely is basically impossible because if you open any new financial accounts or even take out a loan, the data will magically reappear.

I for one welcome our new scamming overlords ...

A friend of mine got bilked out of thousands by some creep on the internet. Was my friend stupid? I didn't think she was; but she will tell you, with tears in her eyes, that she was very, very stupid to let this happen. She is actually a bright woman, but she was beyond lonely, and had been for a long time. The scammer knew the right words and the right buttons to push to con her into taking out loans that she will be paying on for years to come, with her tiny disability income. I'd like to think I would never do anything that incredibly stupid, but I have never felt her level of pain and desperation. These monsters cast a wide, wide net, and only need to connect once with the most vulnerable prey to get them what they want. This is why my attitude toward everyone I meet online tends to be "guilty until you prove you're innocent."

Scammers approach online, by phone, whenever you try to sell anything, if you advertise for tenants, or are looking to buy something . They completely saturate the web. Heads up folks !

I'm trying to sell a motorcycle (time for a different one), and so far have received three hits - all scammers - each with a different approach. Damn ! May end up trading it in just to avoid the hassle ...

It is always wise to be very careful in protecting your personal information on any site.

My number is 967-5309 sometimes they call me Jenny, but I have to wear a wig and dress up for that. If anyone wanted to know. We all need to be vigilant about personal information.

Well, there’s something to be said for the knock-down drag-out conversations we can get into with some familiar characters around here. You at least know they’re real

I gave my number to someone on this site, still on the site. My Gmail email was "attempted" compromised twice. I was sent messages that very same day to enquire whether it was in fact I that was looking for my password. I responded "No" twice. If the cap fits wear it, but my hunch is that it's definitely YOU.

Niggerians work in teams pretending to be desirable photographed "mates"....I block them and report them to admin for over 2 years now

"Watchers"

You can join this group or another and you can always use the report button if you think you've found a scammer.

It takes some time after reporting for them to be removed so always be aware you have a block feature.

If you read the posts pinned to the top you'll see what makes someone a likely scammer. The Better Business Bureau has some good information on it.
What's interesting is they aren't 'one and done', we've seen the same scammers return time and again - they have their favorite stolen photos they use... and even the same bios complete with misspellings!

Thank you. Luckily I don't use my cell except when going off island. I never give the number out as there are lots of businesses that love to send spam.

Fact of life but we have a scammer site here report any suspicious activity to them

You think? Welcome to Agnostic.com

The folks here are not among America's favorite people.

No one gets my phone numbers and it's definitely fishy if they don't want to talk to you here...