There are unscrupulous people pretending to be women online, but it's not that hard to spot scammers on dating sites.  Protecting yourself against fraud online is easy.  All you need to do is pay attention and go with your gut.  

Safety is something you must keep in the back of your head when on dating sites.  I've covered how to protect yourself in a previous blog post, 7 Online Dating Safety Tips All Men Should Follow.  

Here are 5 tips to help you spot scammers on dating sites and help protect you from being taken advantage of.  And yes, I took the screenshots from actual conversations on dating sites such as Zoosk, POF, Coffeemeetsbagle, and MeetMe to name a few.

Misspelled words are going to happen especially if you're on your phone typing messages to women.  I'm guilty of it myself, but if someone shows a bad command of English, they could be a scammer.

Here's a woman who contacted me on Jaumo.  I quickly noticed her bad grammar and became suspicious for obvious reasons.

It's clear from these messages that this woman is a scammer.  She's trying to establish a connection, but her spelling is so bad it's clear she's a fake.

Repeated lines and bad use of the English language give this scam artist away quickly.  

In this example, the person sends the first message in another language, and when I respond back, she quickly replies trying to get me offline.  Her message shows lousy grammar which is a clear sign this is a scam.

Anyone asking for money is not on the up and up.  People can ask for money directly in their profile or through messages.

The Federal Trade Commission has tips to protect yourself from online dating scammers here: Has an online love interest asked you for money?

The FTC lists these to help you spot scammers on dating sites:

1. Professes love quickly.  Claims to be from the U.S., but is overseas for business or military service.
2. Asks for money, and lures you off a dating site.
3. Claims to need money - for emergencies, hospital bills, or travel.

Don't think these can happen to you?  Think again... I see the things often on dating sites.  

Take these profiles from Tinder.  At least the women are direct.  In these Tinder profiles, it's clear these are not women looking for relationships.

In case you are wondering, the term "generous" means she's a hooker.  Take the photo below.  The use of roses in a dating profile photo is a symbol for cash. 

It's not always this cut and dry.  Sometimes scammers will engage in conversations then out of nowhere bring up money problems and will ask for money.

Continuing my example from the first point on this list, the scammer below tries to set me up with how unhappy she is and when I ask why she tells me how she's short money.   This is how scammers take advantage of people.

I decided to ask this person for their number knowing what will come next.  When I do, this scam artists outright asks me for money.

Don't give money to anyone on a dating site.  Sometimes people may try to rush you or put pressure on you.  Don't give in.  

As soon as someone asks for money, that's a red flag to move on.  Report anyone asking for money to your dating site and block them.  It's that simple.

I can't emphasize this enough; don't give strangers on a dating site money.

It's best to keep your communication through your dating site until you swap phone numbers.  Most dating sites scan through profiles and do a good job of deleting suspicious accounts, some slip through like this one on Zoosk.

Take this message from a scammer on the MeetMe dating app.  It's from a 21-year-old (I'm over 40), from Denmark, and the grammar is a red flag.  

Another thing I often see on dating sites are profiles with phone numbers or email addresses on the profile itself; either in the photos or "about me" section.

Female Dating profile photos that have phone numbers or email address in them are fake.

The dating profiles below are from POF.  Note the names of the sites they try and get men to visit; "topshag.com" and my personal favorite, "CasualHump.com."  The reason the site in the top photo is spelled out is probably to avoid being detected by POF as a fake profile.

I'm not saying you aren't capable of meeting a gorgeous woman online, but if some super hot gorgeous woman contacts you, it may be a fake.  

Typically scammers use photos of gorgeous women who only have selfies (never including friends in photos) and show their cleavage or use sexually suggestive pictures.

This beauty contacted me on Cofeemeetsbagel.  Now I'm not saying I don't talk to beautiful women online, but this profile reeked of fraud.  And I was right.

To spot scammers on dating sites, keep your eyes open for telltale signs the person is a fake.  You should be on guard when you first have a conversation with someone.  The odds you're talking to a scammer is low, but it can happen.

I ask simple questions such as the woman's name or area they are in to make sure it matches what's on their profile.  

The "woman" below actually had a profile that looked normal, but something was off.  I couldn't put my finger on it but seemed too good to be true.  I asked her name, and she gave a name that was different than her profile name.

I called her on her fake name, and she vanished.  

The conversation below is from the same women in the first tip above; look for bad grammar.  The screenshot below was during the initial part of our conversation, and I asked her what part of town she lives in; an area called La Mesa here in San Diego.  Everything seemed normal.

However, by the time of the second screenshot, I know she's fake but kept the game going.   I asked her what area of San Diego she lives in the second time and she gives me a completely different area.  

In the conversation below on the MeetMe app, I received multiple "Hi" messages (the first red flag).  AT 11:22 PM, an attractive 23-year-old from San Francisco messaging me in San Diego is a clear sign this is a fake profile.

I respond and what do you know?  I get an automated response pointing to some fake email address.  

I've encountered fakes on every dating site you can name.  Some more than others.  It's not hard to spot scammers on dating sites, yet countless men fall victim to fakes.

Remember these tips to help identify fake female profiles.  

• Women from outside the United States contact you.  I receive messages from women in the Philippines and Europe on several sites.
• Never give money to anyone off a dating site.
• Women don't give their phone numbers or email addresses on their dating profile; photos or written section.
• Pay attention to grammar in messages and dating profiles.
• Beware of super hot women who are half naked in their photos.

In the end, use common sense and always go with your gut.

Please leave comments or any tips you have to help spot scammers on dating sites below.