[SpicyLemonZest]

The trick is that they don't feel like an unsolicited stranger. The stories you read about these scams summarize away weeks or months of talking, flirting, maybe falling in love a little bit, until they're not a stranger but your very cute and very rich friend.

What does work is an absolute, ironclad rule that I do not trust and am not friends with anyone I meet online until we've met multiple times in person. But there's a lot of lonely people out there who don't find that rule so easy.

[0cf8612b2e1e]

I think of it like the xz backdoor. A long time investment of goodwill over months before you tighten the noose.

The more sophisticated attempts seemingly do not straight up ask for cash. They offer an investment opportunity on a scam website which will report the investment doing well, so the victim will independently invest more money.

[JTbane]

>What does work is an absolute, ironclad rule that I do not trust and am not friends with anyone I meet online until we've met multiple times in person

That's a good rule and should be common sense for all internet users.