Sugar Daddy Scam: The 25 Main Red Flags (2021 Edition)
Some things in life can be too good to be true. Have you just started talking to a potential sugar daddy and something he said or done raised your suspicion? Here are the main 25 red flags of the most common sugar daddy scam to help you decide on what to do next:
Sugar daddy scam: how it works
The most common sugar daddy scam is the advance fee fraud, also known as the 419 scam. Remember the stories about Nigerian Princes having trouble transferring money and offering a generous sum in return for your help? Yup, there are still people who fall for it, but now the one who needs your help is a charming sugar daddy.
It usually starts the same. Boy meets girl. He, a self-proclaimed sugar daddy, is eager to give you money or pay off your debt even before having met you for the first time or obtained any value from the relationship whatsoever. Unlike a real sugar daddy, he will make up many excuses not to meet you in person.
Too good to be true
Fast forward and his money is in your bank account, but it is more than you had asked for! Why? Oh, because he needs you to do him a favour, of course. Either he has suddenly become incapable of making any transfers (even though he just has), needs you to purchase something for him or to pay someone else or, more commonly, he wants you to buy him a gift card (for iTunes, Google Play, Amazon or similar) and send him the number on the back. It makes zero sense, doesn’t it?
Then, you kindly follow his instructions and think everything will be fine… but that’s not the case because you’ve been scammed. What happened?
In this sugar daddy scam, the scammer uses the “float time” (the window of time between deposit and the bank officially clearing it) against you. It might take seven to ten days — or longer if we are talking about an international transfer — for the bank to verify the payment and, until then, the money can be transferred. As soon as the bank realizes that the payment is fake, it takes the whole amount back from you. This means that whatever you spent buying the scammer gift cards or making purchases will be deducted from your hard-earned money.
Signs that you are almost certainly talking to a scammer
#1 He asks you for your bank or credit card login information. I think there is hardly anything more suspicious than that. By the way, as explained below, there are many ways you can make a transfer without knowing someone’s real name.
#2 He gives you his online banking information so that you can make transfer to yourself and some people he knows.
#3 He is overly specific about where he needs you to open an account to receive the money.
#4 As part of the previous one, he might try the transfer method suggested by you to prove his good intentions, then claim it didn’t work and insist on you doing things his (shady) way.
#5 He offers to pay much more than you asked. Unless he’s a whale (an absurdly rich and generous sugar daddy), he will ask you to do him a favor eventually.
#6 He will go great lengths to gain your trust right from the start. That includes screenshots of bank transfers or of his bank account balance, videos from his previous sugar babies saying how amazing a sugar daddy he was and giving you their phone numbers in case you want to hear it directly from them. What kind of sugar daddy needs so many people to vouch for him? And why?
#7 He wants you to get a reloadable credit card or gift cards.
#8 He wants you to install blockchain, will only pay you in cryptocurrency or wants you to buy it for him.
#9 You can only get your allowance if you send part of the money to someone else.
#10 Someone from his business will “take care of the financials” for him.
… and the list goes on!
#11 He wants to include you in his payroll.
#12 He claims to be a travelling businessman or oceanographer and wants to pay you before the first date or meet you at sea. He wants to pay you even though he has got no value from the relationship yet.
#13 He will only pay your allowance in the middle or end of the month. Most likely, he will disappear from your life before that happens.
#14 He will gaslight you for asking for money as part of the arrangement and make you feel bad about the relationship being transactional. That means he is a salt daddy and actually wants sex and nothing else.
#15 Someone you do not know contacts you claiming to have gotten your number from another sugar daddy.
#16 Alternatively, a stranger contacts you saying he wants to hook you up with a friend.
#17 He wants you to delete your sugar dating profile even before the M&G. He might claim that he is so into you and so sure things will work out between you and him that you do not have to look any further, but actually, this way, it is harder for you to report him.
#18 He sends you pictures of money. No serious sugar daddy would do that.
#19 He wants to send you a check or a picture of a check. Like, seriously?!
#20 You have been approached on Instagram by someone claiming to be an “honest sugar daddy”. More often than not, anyone calling himself “honest” is anything but honest.
Signs your potential sugar daddy MIGHT be a scammer
#21 He insists on continuing the conversation off MySugarDaddy right at the start. There are many reasons why you should not do it. Believe me, you do not want a stranger to have your phone number or Insta. He might claim what he wants, but you should definitely stay on MySugarDaddy to protect your identity and stay safe overall. Afer all, we even have a built-in video chat feature, so you do not have to share any contact information with anyone.
#22 He makes vague questions, as if he had not read your profile.
#23 Odd phrasing: there are tons of foreign sugar daddies, especially on an international sugar dating site such as ours. However, sugar daddies are well-educated businessmen, so their English should be at least ok. Some scammers, on the other hand, speak it particularly poorly.
#24 The relationship has barely started yet and he wants to send you money via venmo, cahsapp or paypal instead of cash, the exception here being a small, symbolic gift. The problem with these platforms is that the transactions can be reversed!
#25 He asks for bank information such as account holder and account number. Maybe he doesn’t know, but there are options for sending money without needing someone’s real name. You can check out the best anonymous payment options here.
Sugar daddy scam: what to do about the messages
- Do not reply or give any attention to the scammer. This is also why you should never share any alternative contact information because then he could try to reach you in different ways using different accounts and phone numbers.
- Report the account! Our team will take care of that and you will be contributing to a better and safer sugar dating community.
- Contact your bank if you have given any login information. Follow the instructions to avoid having your account compromised.
- If you sent gift card codes or made any purchases, you already have fallen for the sugar daddy scam and it is probably too late. However, it is worth trying to do something, such as contacting your bank and telling what happened. Otherwise, your account might be closed for fraudulent activities or you might owe additional fees for it.
- The money is already on your account and he is threatening you with legal action? Block him. It is fake money anyway and will be gone soon. You do not owe him anything. Again, blocking the scammer and forgetting about it is much easier if he has no other avenues to reach you.
How to stay safe
Block anyone if one or more of these red flags check out. Unfortunately, there are many time wasters and scammers out there. If it has become obvious that this person is attempting a sugar daddy scam, report him! This way, we can create a safe environment on our online platform where real sugar daddies and sugar babies can meet.
When it comes to money, keep this in mind: real sugar daddies will only pay you after the M&G. Some of them will bring along a gift or hand you some cash for the cab, but nearly none will offer you money before meeting you in person and making sure there is some chemistry between the two of you.
Even then, first you get a pay-per-meet for a couple months or weeks, and only then you transition to a monthly or bi-weekly allowance, usually in cash, as it is the most anonymous form of payment. Only then, after trust has been established and you have built a connection that you should start accepting online payments. This way, you will be sure to stay safe from sugar daddy scams!
