Cybercriminals have automated many operations in the past, from distributing ransomware to malicious advertisements, but you would never expect them to automate something as personal and individual as online dating scams, also known as "mail order brides."
If you're into online scams, not necessarily dating-related, the first thing you need are email addresses. While it's widely known that you can find entire batches containing thousands of email addresses on the black market, now you can skip the trial and error stage of your undercover business and buy a complete online dating scam package, as security correspondent Brian Krebs reports.
These packages contain everything you need to get your own Russian online Dating website up and running within a few hours.
People who buy these starter packs will find email templates for different situations, and even access to a call center where real Russian women stand waiting to play the victim on the phone.
The package is ideal for scammers who like to run online dating scams with only a few targets at a time, or the package can be integrated into spam campaigns, with the ability to automate future responses based on various situations.
The people behind this package also provide tutorials, recommending other cyber-scammers to wait and send emails and requests for money only after a certain number of emails have been sent.
To maximize their chances of success, scammers are advised to include the mother of the “Russian bride” in the email exchange, somewhere in the first ten email exchanges.
Additionally, the romance scam also comes with plenty of photos and videos of attractive women, in case the victim needs more persuasion.
The chances of a victim being scammed are around 20% after exchanging 3 emails, while they reach 60% after 8.
