Staying safe on HelloTalk, what should I do to avoid scammers?

If someone you met on HelloTalk asks for money or financial details, treat them as a scammer and report them immediately. At HelloTalk, we have three guiding community principles. We are here to learn languages, we celebrate the diversity of our community, and we share our knowledge generously.

We are proud of our passionate learning community. However, we are aware that friendly communities like ours can, on occasion, be targeted by scammers.

What is a scammer?

Scammers create fake profiles on HelloTalk by using photos that are not their own. They contact other members, try to build relationships, provide false information about their life and eventually ask for money.

To keep yourself safe on HelloTalk:

1. Remember the rules of internet safety

Never send money or give out any personal details!

2. Use your best judgment

Ask yourself if this person's behavior seems normal for someone who wants to learn a language. HelloTalk is not a dating app, so be cautious of members who use HelloTalk for dating purposes.

3. Communicate via HelloTalk

HelloTalk is designed to keep you safe. Community moderators are here always on hand to help you and can ban members if necessary. If someone suggests switching messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, Kakao talk, WeChat or Line, start a video call with them on HelloTalk to verify their identity.

There are currently three different types of scams to be aware of:

1. Romance Scams

Common behaviors:

1. The scammers pretend to be a middle-aged male who claims to be from the US or UK or other countries outside of Africa, working overseas on oil rigs or peacekeeping missions.

2. They will ask you to switch to a different messaging platform like WhatsApp, Kakaotalk, WeChat or Line

3. They will not want to have a video call with you (as that would expose their real identity)

4. They will confess their romantic feelings towards you very quickly

5. They will tell you that they have a financial emergency, need money to release from customs, pay for a visa, medical issues, or something important to their children or jobs

2. Investment/currency scams

Common behavior:

1. The scammers pretend to be young women from China or Hong Kong or Singapore, claiming to own coffee shops, beauty salons or restaurants

2. They will ask you to switch to a different messaging platform like WhatsApp, Kakaotalk, WeChat or Line

3. They don't want to video call you (because it would reveal their real identity)

4. They pretend to be interested in your country's stock market or economy

5. They will ask you to invest in online currencies, crypto-currencies or stocks

3. Butchering Pig Scams

Common behavior:

1. Scammers pretend to be from China or US, UK, Singapore, Japan, but most of their IPs are in Southeast Asia.

2. They usually pretend to be very motivated or successful in their careers, use online platforms to find love partners, and then ask you to switch to different messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, WeChat or Line, and then induce victims to invest in gambling platforms to commit fraud.

 

If you have any questions or suspect you have been contacted by a scammer, please report the person using the report feature in the app. This person will not know you reported them.

If you want to learn more about the behavior of typical online scammers, you can refer to the following links:

English: link-english

Japanese: link-japanese

Korean: link-korean

Simplified Chinese: link-simplified chinese

Traditional Chinese: link-traditional chinese

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