EXCLUSIVE: AUSTRALIANS have lost $23 million to dating scams in the past 12 months - an all-time high.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will use Valentine's Day to reveal that in 2012 it received reports from 65 people who admitted handing over at least $100,000 each. More than 1100 said they had lost money.
The losses are up more than 50 per cent on 2010 levels and the number of victims has increased 85 per cent in only two years.
Frauds built around the chance of romance are especially insidious - and successful.
The current "Targeting Scams'' report by the ACCC finds that while dating scams make up just 2.5 per cent of complaints, they account for 25 per cent of losses. And the proportion of complainants who say they lost money is 46 per cent - nearly four times the average of all scams.
According to the ACCC, in a romance scam the shonk typically develops a strong rapport with the victim, often over weeks or months. A 2011 report by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that one-third of victims said they had been in contact with their scammer more than 20 times. Three people said they had been in contact with their scammer more than 200 times.
They play on the target's emotions.
"Sometimes they even send flowers,'' ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
Then comes the request for money to supposedly help cover costs associated with illness, injury or a family crisis. Dating and romance scammers often approach their victims on legitimate dating websites, then attempt to move them away from the security of the website to instead communicate by, say, email.
Last year the ACCC set out guidelines for dating sites that encouraged them to more closely scrutinise profiles for pictures known to be used by scammers, Internet Protocol addresses that would identify users in countries linked to fraud activity, and unusually high message volumes.
Ms Rickard had a simple message for users of match-making sites.
"Never, never, never send money to someone you haven't met,'' she said.
If you have fallen victim, stop communicating, plus change your email address and other contact details. Report the scammer to the dating site. If you've lost money, inform the police and the ACCC. If you've bank account details, speak to your bank.
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