Romance scams expand to new platforms, costing victims $28m

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here. News scam. Six in custody over car sale scam in Melbourne’s southeast A teenager and five men are in custody after police uncovered an alleged car scam in Melbourne’s southeast. Man charged over national online puppy breeding scam A Western Sydney man has been charged over an alleged online puppy selling scam that targeted people in states and territories across the country.

From lust to bust: How love scammers are fooling Tasmanians. Scammers have their biggest successes with Tasmanians when they prey on.

Edition: Available editions Global Perspectives. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in Get newsletter. Articles Contributors Links Articles on Romance scam Displaying all articles Shutterstock Last year, men were more likely to report losses to investment fraud, while women were the main target for romance fraud. Overall, men reported higher financial loss. There is no specific crime of catfishing in Australia.

So we have to make better use of existing laws to address this devastating behaviour. Romance scammers are clever, well organised and have a number of tried techniques which make them highly successful. But there are ways you can avoid being scammed by a one-sided romance. Whether you’re caught by a catfish or an online romance scammer, both use similar techniques to play with your emotions.

These are the tactics that online offenders use to dupe their victims.