Staying Safe In Chat

Avoid the “Sugar Daddy” / “Sugar Scam”
The scammer finds you on a chat site or social media and offers an incredibly high weekly allowance (often $500–$2,000). They usually claim they don’t want anything physical. This is designed to lower your guard and make the deal feel low-risk.

This is where they actually steal your money. They will never just send you funds via a secure, non-refundable method. Instead, they use one of these three maneuvers:

• The Advance Fee Scam: They "try" to send you money but claim their "business account" requires a one-time activation fee.

• The Fake Check/Mobile Deposit: They send you a photo of a check and ask you to deposit it via your mobile banking app. The money will show up in your "available balance" immediately (because banks are required to give you access by law), but the check is fake. They’ll then ask you to send a portion of that money back to them or to a "charity." Days later, the bank realizes the check is bunk, reverses the full amount, and you are out whatever money you sent them.

• The "Account Login" Scam: They claim they want to add you to their "payroll" or "corporate account." They ask for your banking login credentials. Once they have them, they drain your account or use it to launder money from other victims.

Red Flags to Watch For

If any of these happen, report them and block them immediately:

Refusal to Video Chat: They will have endless excuses (broken camera, "traveling for business") because they aren't the person in their profile picture.

Broken English: Despite claiming to be a "wealthy CEO from Chicago," their grammar and phrasing are often clunky.

Immediate Talk of Money: They want to get to the "payment" part within minutes of meeting you.

Requests for Gift Cards: No legitimate billionaire pays people in Steam or Apple gift cards.