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The dating ritual has been transformed by technology. Plenty of people meet online before they ever lay eyes on each other.

Just as in real life, where you can spot a creep at a bar, there are certain warning signs about online scam artists.

“They go to dating websites and they try to lure people to leave the dating website. ‘Oh, you seem perfect for me, let’s continue our conversation outside the website,’” explains Len Gordon of the Federal Trade Commission.

When it’s clear the two of you have hit it off, the scam artist will say you even live near each other but that he or she is stranded overseas.

“’Hoping to get back and meet you very, very soon, Unfortunately I’ve been in an accident or I’m out of money or I have a job problem. If you could only give me a little bit of money, I’ll get back to wherever it is you happen to leave and we’ll continue our blossoming romance,’” says Gordon.

Send even a little money and you are considered on the hook.

“One request leads to another, leads to hospital bills, leads to problems, they don’t have money. If you wire money to them, then they take your money and there’s no romance,” says Gordon.

Thousands of people have been cleaned out of tens of thousands of dollars by the scam described here.

There are few things more powerful or more blinding than the lightning strike of love.

Even if they can’t say how to find a real date, experts can tell you more about avoiding a dating scam. Visit FTC.gov.