Love scams target seniors

Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety, Senator Catryna Bilyk, called upon Australian seniors to be careful when seeking love, or romance, online.

A recent survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology in partnership with the Australasian Consumer Fraud Task Force has found that Australians over the age of 65 of age were the most likely to be tricked by romance scams.

“The evidence from this survey mirrors the many stories that have been told to me, and have been given as submissions to the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety’s current inquiry into Cyber-Safety for Senior Australians,” said Senator Bilyk. “It is concerning that seniors looking for love are callously being targeted by this sort of scam”.

Dating scams were the most likely to result in financial loss or the disclosure of personal details, with almost half (48%) of victims reporting they had lost money. The disclosure of personal details can lead to identity theft, which is one of the top three enablers of organised crime in Australia, and can have significant financial implications for individuals, businesses, and government.

“Scammers can spend months developing a relationship with people, in order to develop trust and sympathy,” said Senator Bilyk “Seniors should be careful not to send money or disclose banking details to people that they meet online, as people that ask for money are often not who they claim to be”.

“The ACCC has launched a series of guidelines for dating websites to reduce the risk of users being scammed. Scam warnings, improved vetting processes, and complaint handling mechanisms should reduce the risk of being scammed by romance scams,” said Senator Bilyk.

Further information on how to recognise and report scams can be found at the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au.

The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce: Results of the 2010 and 2011 Online Consumer Fraud Surveys report can be accessed from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s website at www.aic.gov.au.
Senator Catryna Bilyk Labor Senator for Tasmania Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety