DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA – Dec 9 – According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, total losses for dating and romance scams reached ~$23M this year. The ACCC has sent almost 1500 letters to potential victims in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory as part of its Scam Disruption Project.
by Nelson Groom
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk
MIRROR.CO.UK – Oct 17 – Four men were jailed for a total of ~14 years for the 'highly sophisticated' crime which used a false dating profile to snare victims. The victims were duped after they responded to the false profile of an "attractive middle-aged man" on match.com. They then fell for the conman's story that he was due to receive a £100M inheritance from his father but that it was tied up by red tape in India. At first the women were asked for a £700 legal fee by a fake solicitor but then the sums requested rose to up to £100K. In a statement, match.com said: "These verdicts show that scammers do get caught, though that's no consolation for those they exploited.
STL TODAY – Oct 11 – A Nigerian man, accused of running an online “romance scam” that victimized ~30 women in USA, has been arrested in London. He pretended to be a member of the military, using information and photos he’d stolen from real people on online dating sites.
by Robert Patrick
See full article at STL Today
ABC.NET.AU – Sep 14 – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is concerned some websites do not screen their users closely enough, resulting in fake profiles that scam money from innocent people. In 2013, Australians lost $25M to dating and romance scams, the ACCC said. ACCC is also seeing problems about not being clear about costs, hidden fees, great difficulty at cancelling contracts. The ACCC is telling people to visit the ScamWatch website for tips on how to protect yourself or to report any suspect activity on dating sites.
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS – Aug 11 – Following reports that 43 Australians have lost more than $100,000 each this year, with some victims sending more than $1m overseas over several years, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is joining forces with government anti-money laundering agents to implement an alert system for suspicious cross-border money transfers. Upon receiving an alert from the Australian transactions reports and analysis centre, the ACCC will contact suspected victims with warnings to stop sending money.
NBC NEWS – Apr 12 – In 2012, online dating scams cost Americans ~$55M, according to Internet Crime Complaint Center. Tinder is relatively new but extremely popular. "Because there are so many people using the app, it’s a ripe target for scammers," Satnam Narang, security response manager at Symantec. Scammers often use bots (software that can answer questions with automated responses) to initiate contact with people looking for a date. There have not been any headline-grabbing scams involving Tinder. But on other dating sites, people have been taken for thousands of dollars and allegedly convinced to do things like smuggle drugs into Argentina.
SBS.COM.AU – Apr 6 – Australians are losing ~$8M a month in online dating scam. Nigeria is certainly the hub. A research shows that for every dollar that goes to Nigeria, there’s another dollar and 4 cents going to one of 41 different countries. Australia has struck up a relationship with the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria and other law enforcement. There have been over 30 arrests in Nigeria, Ghanna and Malaysia. FTC in US has also entered a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigerian law enforcement.
YAHOO NEWS – Feb 17 – In Britain, £24.5M is lost every year to online dating scams. That figure might be a serious underestimate, according to Mark Brooks, Editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. Many victims are so ashamed and distraught that the perpetrator is never prosecuted.
Q: If you’ve ‘known’ each other for months, are you safe?
A: No. Scammers often do this full time. It usually takes a few months to build up to the 'I need money for a kidney operation or I'll die' type scam.
Q: Can you spot scammers by looking at their profiles?
A: The line of communication is the give away. If they want you to get off the dating site asap, that's a sign. People should do a video or real life date.
Q: Are there details I should leave off my profile, in case I’m targeted?
A: The religiously inclined are targeted. Older women are also targeted because its tough to find a hot older gentleman.
Q: I am worried my ‘new romance’ might not be what it seems – what can I do?
A: Call your local police department and notify the dating site. I like the 419eater.com approach.
Most dating sites have automated systems which root out scammers, using patterns of language – such as the word ‘wire’. There are certain kinds of profile that scammers do tend to use, i.e. ex-pats working abroad. Check their Facebook. Don't send money to someone you've never met.
PR WEB – Sep 10 – Online dating security service, Scamalytics, offer to scan dating sites for scammers and fake profiles and generate a free performance report.
TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – Apr 15 – As online dating grows, online fraud goes with it. There was $65M worth of online dating fraud reported last year, but James Vargas, founder of online identity service MiiCard, estimates that "one fifth of victims report it to the authorities". That means ~2.5% of people involved in online dating are victims of fraud. The typical frauds involve fake profiles followed up by a sob story and a request for money. There's reliable research to suggest ~10% of online dating profiles are fakes of this type.