New figures reveal millions of Queenslanders’ dollars have been lost to online scammers conducting romance scams and fraudulent dating websites.
Data from the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch register shows 61 Queenslanders lost more than $1.4 million to romance scams in February last year – more than four times the amount lost in New South Wales and more than triple Victoria’s losses over the same period.
Websites, emails and text messages were the most common ways scammers contacted victims, with people aged 55 to 64 the most frequently targeted. The median loss reported per scam in Queensland was $7000.
Queensland’s Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity Deb Frecklington urged Queenslanders to be cautious, especially if they receive a request for money from someone they’ve never met in person.
Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up for our FREE daily news email.
“It’s deeply concerning and disappointing to see February continue to be a peak time for scammers to target unsuspecting Queenslanders, with devastating consequences,” the Attorney-General said.
“More than 850 Queenslanders reported losing close to $6 million to dating and romance scammers last year, with around a quarter of those financial losses occurring in February alone.
“But we need to remember those victims are only the ones who reported being scammed, and there are likely to be many others who were too embarrassed or afraid to report the fact they were ripped off.
“If you do fall victim to a scam, contact your bank immediately, report it to police, and log the incident with Scamwatch to help prevent others from being impacted by these heartless scammers.”
Signs it might be a scam, according to Scamwatch:
- The relationship moves fast and they soon say they have strong feelings for you. They ‘love bomb’ you, messaging or calling a lot to make you feel very special.
- The scammer quickly tries to move your chat from a social media platform or online dating website to a free messaging platform like WeChat, LINE or WhatsApp.
- Once there’s an emotional connection, the scammer encourages you to make money through different investments, often cryptocurrency. They may offer to spend time ‘showing you’ how to make ‘easy money’.
- They may tell you they have an emergency and urgently need your money or ask you to set up accounts or transfer money they give you.
- They want you to only trust them and keep things secret. They may try to cut you off from family and friends
- There always seems to be some reason they can’t meet in person or video chat. Often they say they’re overseas, somewhere remote, or their technology isn’t working.
Victims are encouraged to report scams through Scamwatch to assist authorities in identifying trends and disrupting scam activity.
