Norton Report Reveals: Online dating/romance scam victims report a loss of ₹7966 on average

• Two-thirds of Indian adults (66%) have fallen victim to an online dating/romance scam
• Over a third of adults in India – 35% are familiar with “stalkerware” or “creepware”

Norton, a consumer Cyber Safety brand of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), today published Indian findings from a global study examining consumers’ online creeping behaviors when it comes to current or prospective partners. The report, released ahead of romantic Valentine’s Day, throws light on the dark side of dating. It also highlights how online dating/romance scams have proven to be a costly threat to majority of Indians, with nearly three out of four (74%) of victims suffering financial losses from these types of scams. The Norton study was conducted online in partnership with The Harris Poll and involved 1,000 Indian adults aged 18+.

The survey findings reveal that 79% of Indian adults who have used a dating website/app admit to taking some kind of action after matching with a potential partner online, including looking up their social media profile(s) (49%) looking up their profile on a professional networking site (32%) looking up their friends or family on social media (27%) typing their name into a search engine (26%) or paying to run a background check on them (22%).

Norton Report Reveals: Online dating/romance scam victims report a loss of ₹7966 on average

“People seeking connection and romantic relationships online often get tricked into dating scams.” says Ritesh Chopra, Director Sales and Field Marketing, India & SAARC Countries, Gen. “In our latest Norton report, we discovered external information outside of the dating app can often cut interaction with a potential match short, with many online daters uncovering their love interest has been spinning a tale of lies and deception. It is important to be cautious about sharing private information and be wary of potential scammers pretending to be looking for love.”

According to the study by Norton, 76% of adults in India have used a dating app say they have cut their interaction short by unmatching or declining a date with someone on a dating app after uncovering unsettling information about them. Common reasons for doing so include finding pictures of them online that were disturbing (32%) finding out the person lied about their personal details (25%), finding pictures of them online that did not align with their dating profile pictures (24%), finding social media posts that were disturbing (24%), or because they found the person’s job title (20%).

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