Online scams have been a big problem, especially on social media, in the last year. A big one that has been targeted towards young teens and women is sugaring. Often older men known as “sugar daddies” direct message women on social media or dating apps to be a “sugar baby.” They will ask for conversations or sometimes pictures in exchange for money, but they will scam you.
The popular platform, Instagram, is one of the primary sources where younger women are receiving these messages from men offering them money. The messages may seem tempting, but if you get a message like this you should not answer, even if it seems real. This is a common scam that has been around for some time that may have detrimental consequences.
Those who receive these messages should immediately block the user or delete the message. If you do answer the message, make sure to never give them any of your bank information, never send any inappropriate photos, ignore false promises of paying off any debts, and especially avoid any conversation involving a situation where you have to transfer money (even outside the sugar daddy messages). By sending them your bank information you could lose large amounts of money, and if you send graphic images, you could be blackmailed. The best advice is to immediately block them without engaging.
According to recent reports, one of the most common ways “sugar daddies” will scam you is by fraudulently paying off the victims credit card balance or debt and asking them to buy them gift cards that can be redeemed remotely. Once the credit card company realizes it is fake, the deposited funds are removed, and the victim is left with the original balance they needed to pay plus the gift cards. The banks can not do anything to get your money back, because you gave them your information.
“And that’s the starting point for a scam that tricked a woman out of $4,670 in a three-day whirlwind of broken promises.” Angie lost all of this money from someone she met on an app claiming to be a “sugar daddy,” they convinced her that they could not take any of her money and that her information was safe. They took almost $5,000 and the bank couldn’t help her because she gave them her information.
After polling several students on campus, a majority have attested they have received these messages, and actually, most receive them several times per week. Cyber-safety is a key skill CCSD wants to promote, and the county has led events to raise awareness on issues just like these. Please help promote awareness as to how this specific scam is detrimental financially and not worth the danger or risk to reputation.
THE WARRIOR WORD 