The move usually happens quite quickly
Chat Apps and Services
Sharing contact details
At this stage there is likely an interest in the character created by the criminal but hopefully not yet a deeper connection. It would seem like the normal thing to do to ‘continue getting to know each other’, a phrase often used by the criminals when asking for contact details, because they are not often on the platform you have met on.
There are many, many chat applications that these criminals use, some of the main ones are shown above. However, there are many more. Some are specific to geographical areas such as KakaoTalk in East Asia, IMO in India with Whats App, and also lesser known ones such as Bip. Zangi is a current favourite.
Key notes
- They want to reduce the risk of losing your connection if the fake profile is reported and removed
- Depending on the size of the group, they are passing you to the next and more experienced scammer to begin the next stage of the fraud
- They now have your name, email/telephone number-building a profile of your information
It may seem a real inconvenience, but it is best to get your contact information changed. In the long run, this will put stop to you getting increased levels of spam, phishing emails and random text messages as these criminals will always try to use this information for other nefarious purposes. They also sell contact information on to other criminals.
There might have been some questions, statements or asks that are giving you those ‘something is off’ vibes. Listen to them.
Please check Step 1 to clarify other things to look for.
The journey of manipulation will be starting
Grooming, Love Bombing and Trauma Bonding will now be used to emotionally manipulate and coerce you.