Man Sends $70K To Online Suitor, Sues OKCupid For Not Warning Him Of Dating Dangers

Sometimes, when love is in the air, it’s like nothing matters — eating, sleeping… keeping an eye on your bank account and making sure not to send a bunch of money to someone you’ve never met. A man who was tricked into sending $70,000 to an online suitor is now suing OKCupid for not warning him that such a thing could happen.

The New York man filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming that OKCupid’s reputation made him feel “safe” and he trusted the profile of a man he met on the site in February 2013, reports the New York Daily News.

The 65-year-old says that after a whirlwind romance consisting of days chatting on the site, and later exchanging emails, the two were talking on the phone a month in. That’s when the man says his new paramour started asking for money to fund his business.

“Believing his story because he now trusted [the man] based on their multiple daily conversations,” the plaintiff made two wire transfers of $12,000 total to a name that wasn’t his suitor’s in Texas.

The money was returned to his bank and the suitor then asked the man to send the money to another account, under another name, elsewhere in Texas. He also sent a third transfer of $12,000 to someone in Canada and yet another to England.

Sigh. Just a reminder at this point — if this is happening to you? It’s a scam. Don’t do it.

After leaking $70,000 total, the man grew suspicious of the fake receipts, and said the money went to his suitor’s account instead. His friends helped out by finding the guy on the Internet, where his name was listed on a website of known scammers.

Out of money and probably out of luck when it comes to nabbing, the guy, the man thinks his former love is back on OkCupid, looking for new victims. He’s suing OKCupid for not warning users that such a scam could happen.

We’ve reached out to OKCupid for comment, but in the meantime, we can’t say it enough: Do not send someone you’ve never met a whole lot of money. Actually, don’t send anyone a whole lot of money if you don’t know them really, really well.

Queens man who gave $70,000 to man he met on OkCupid.com suing dating site for failing to warn him about dangers of online dating [New York Daily News]

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