Romance scams see $40 million lost in 2023

The National Anti-Scam Centre is warning folks to be wary of romance-baiting scams which have resulted in $40 million in losses over 2023.

The figures from the ACCC’ Scamwatch received 484 reports of this scam in 2023, leading to “significant emotional and financial harm to Australians”.

Romance-style scams were found to also disproportionately impact people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, “with reports to Scamwatch from these communities accounting for more than 30 per cent ($12 million) of total losses last year.”

The findings also show Australians aged over 55 years old suffered the highest individual losses to romance-baiting scams in 2023.

The scam works with the target and scammer meaning via dating apps or websites, leading to messages eventually being asked to move to Google Hangouts, WeChat, Line or WhatsApp.

After some time of establishing a relationship, the scammer will begin to discuss investments, usually involving cryptocurrency, with the target pressured to invest.

At first, it may appear profits are being made however, the scammer will state the account must be topped up and only end when the target has no more money or refuses.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said Scammers are cold-hearted criminals who are looking to exploit people’s emotions to take their money.”

“We are urging people to not take financial or investment advice from someone you have only met online. Even if you think you know who you are messaging, remember that it could be a scammer on the other side of the screen. 

“These scammers will spend weeks, even months, messaging their victim, making them feel like they’ve formed a genuine connection before shifting the conversation to investment or cryptocurrency opportunities.

“Ultimately, these ‘opportunities’ turn out to be investment scams, leaving the victim not only broken-hearted but out of pocket by significant amounts of money,” Lowe said.

Lowe also said that while the decline in annual losses indicates that coordination between government and industry is increasing community awareness and disrupting scammers, “we are concerned that people are still losing an alarming amount of money to romance baiting scams.

“Online dating and social media connection is a common way to meet new people, but it also presents an opportunity for scammers to deceive people and take advantage of their trust.”

"We are working closely with law enforcement to combat these scams and protect the public," Lowe concluded.