By: Thabo Qoako
“DIRTY John”, “Tinder Swindler”, “The Most Hated Man” on the internet – it seems our screens are ablaze with stories about those who mislead, exploit, or are abusive to others for their own financial gain. Despite this growing awareness, it’s happening every day– yet we never seem to think it can happen to us.
A financial predator targets vulnerable individuals. They identify weaknesses in another individual and then work to build their trust. Once trust is established, they act to isolate their targets before pouncing.
The isolation component is important, because it is hard to exploit someone who has close ties with trusted friends and family members, if you have strong, long-standing relationships with others, they will tell you if they notice suspicious behaviour from someone you’re involved or engaging with.
The tactics of a financial predator take many forms, such as manipulation, fraud, or pressuring their targets to extract money. They might operate through scams, schemes, theft, or greedy lending practices.
In the context of a relationship, a predator cares not for the other party’s well-being and stability. All they are after is the financial benefit they receive from these interactions.
Here are three most common types of financial predators:
1. Romantic predators: these individuals create fake online or off-line personas to establish romantic relationships with victims, exploiting their emotions to extort money or financial assistance.
2. Predatory lenders: these lenders target vulnerable individuals with high-interest loans or predatory lending practices, often trapping borrowers in cycles of debt.
3. Identity predators: these predators steal personal information, such as bank account details, to commit fraud and theft.
Is it possible to be in a healthy relationship with someone who practises predatory behaviour? Absolutely not. Once caught in their snare, you know that at some point you will experience financial loss and your mental well-being and close relationships will suffer.
Like any other form of abuse, someone might deny that it is happening to them, but the reality is that it is happening and slowly destroying the victim. This is not a relationship of mutual respect and love; it is one-sided and motivated by greed. In most cases, once the victim is cleaned out, the predator moves on to their next target.
Predators are intentional and will strike whenever given the opportunity – this is their nature. They are manipulative, deceptive, opportunistic, lack empathy and accountability, and are tolerant of high risk. They’re also repeat offenders.
If you’re unlucky enough to come across someone who you suspect is a financial predator, how do you escape their clutches?
Here are five steps you should take:
· Reach out to friends and family – as a predator will try to isolate you, keep your circle tight around you. These are the people who will help keep you level-headed, making it harder for the predator to exploit or continue exploiting you.
· Stop communication – once you realise that someone is a predator, cut all ties as soon as possible. Unfriend, unfollow, delete, and block – do what you have to do to stop them from contacting you. And remember, you don’t owe them any explanation.
· Document everything – keep track of your message history and document all transactions if they’ve already taken place. You’ll need this.
· Check your finances. Review your financial status to ensure that no further transactions are made using your name that you might not be aware of. Make sure the predator has no access to your money; change passwords, change cards – do whatever is needed.
· Report the predator and seek legal advice – fast.
* Qoako is the Group CSI monitoring, evaluation, and compliance head at Momentum Metropolitan.
PERSONAL FINANCE