I think Web cams do serve a great purpose. I have the USB 3 LED PC Webcam Camera and use it to communicate with friends and family over the Internet. I could also see a Web cam coming to good use to talk to someone you’ve met online. But as a way to take your picture for your online profile? No way.

If the MySpace reference wasn’t enough to talk you out of a Web cam photo for your online profile. Here’s three more reasons not to use a Web cam photo:

1 – You want to show that you are an active and interesting person. Someone who sits at their computer all night scamming for chics looks a little one-dimensional.

2 – The image just isn’t very good. No Web cam can take a photo like some of the latest and great digital cameras can. You’re much better off taking your own photo with your camera.

3 – You decrease your chances of success with a Web cam photo–especially if its the only photo you have of yourself online. Show a little variety in your profile by uploading several photos.

For more online dating advice, sign up for the Dating Tales profile writing service. Complete the personality survey in just five minutes!

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In a recent article published in USA Today, it was reported that there’s been a surge in cyber criminals using photos of various models and then creating false online dating profiles with their image.

After connecting with other online daters, the scammers then ask the model for money before he or she will stop using their fake profiles.

Moral of the story – If Kate Moss sends you an e-mail through a single site, you should ignore her. I know, I know, it’s a dream come true, but Kate Moss is already taken and its just a scam … unfortunately.

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At first she only paid him £3,000 for his flight. Then it was another £3,000 for another flight. After that it was £10,000 because he couldn’t access the first £6,000. And it didn’t stop there; she gave this man whom she had not met £76,000 to hire  a private jet to come and see her.

But he didn’t ever come to see her. Though, I’m guessing they had a chance to meet in court where he was prosecuted for fraud.

The whole story was reported in People UK – and to read it is pretty heartbreaking. Fully functioning, smart people are being duped by romance scammers every day. These scammers find someone who is lonely, maybe even desperate for love, and then the scammer plays on those feelings.

Online dating scams are not special to one particular single site. Although the story I mentioned above was a result of a connection on FriendsReunited.com, online dating scams can take place on any Web site — including MySpace and Craigslist.

Our advice to you: Don’t wire money. If you really want to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you’ve fallen for online, purchase him or her an airline ticket yourself. Do this with a credit card straight from the airline or a travel agency.

This way if it doesn’t work out you’ve only lost a few hundred dollars.  The heartbreak you will recover from soon, but bankruptcy you won’t, we promise.

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It’s sad to think about how these online dating scammers are leaving so many heartbroken people in their wake.

If you are on any online dating site, then I’m sure you’ve been approached by a scammer. They are often from other countries claiming they are looking for love or a family. Here’s a message I got from a Colombian fellow.

I`m hope found a good and honest women.

Sure you are buddy.

Now that’s not to say that all men from Colombia (or anywhere else in the world) who contacts me is a scammer, but when I say I only want to meet people within 50 miles of my town and I get one of these messages every few weeks, I’d say the chances are pretty high that I’m looking at a romance scammer.

There is a Web site called Stop-Scammers that focuses solely on online dating scams. Stop-Scammers.com even has pictures of the top scammers from around the globe with details of who they have scammed and where (the even list the single site where they’ve been spotted).

It seems that the common thread among scams is the request for a random dollar amount so that he or she can help a dying loved one — or better yet fly to America so that you can be together.

I have one question: Why do people send so much money to strangers overseas? Just because you’ve emailed and talked on the phone, that doesn’t make it love.

And here I felt a little strange asking for my readers to buy me a  beer.

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