Pressure and moving off the app
Wouldn't video call or verify
1 report mentions this, in the last 90 days.
Weeks of daily messages, but the video call never happens: bad signal, broken camera, working somewhere it isn't allowed. On its own it's a small thing. Combined with a money ask or a story about being far away, it's a familiar pattern.
What it looks like
- Every call gets rescheduled, or connects for a moment and 'drops'.
- They send lots of photos but nothing live: no selfie holding today's date, no video, no in-app verification.
- When you insist, they get emotional: 'don't you trust me?'
- A video does happen, but it's short, blurry, and the face never turns or moves naturally.
Is refusing a video call a sign of a scam?
The photos belong to someone else, so a live call would end the story. Refusing outright looks bad, so the refusal is dressed up as bad luck or a rule at work. Faked video does exist now, which is why a glitchy, short call shouldn't reassure you either. The point of a call isn't the call. It's that someone real is happy to have one.
What to do
- Ask for a video call early, before you're invested. Suggest a specific time and see what happens.
- Use the app's own verification (photo or video selfie), and don't accept 'verified' badges sent as screenshots.
- Do a reverse image search on their photos. Stolen photos usually turn up somewhere else.
- If the pattern continues alongside a money ask, stop there. What that ask usually looks like.
More in the tips: Dating and new online friends.
Numbers people reported for this
Top 1 number by reports mentioning this in the last year
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