Last year, financial criminals stole more than $40 million in fake investments from people in Australia through dating websites and social media.
These scammers pretend to a real person who wants a relationship with you, spending weeks or months gaining your trust.
They tell you to invest your money or cryptocurrency in ‘opportunities’ that turn out to be fake, leaving you broke and broken-hearted.
How the scam works
• You meet a scammer on a dating app.
• They ask you to start messaging on WhatsApp or another app.
• They text or call you a lot to build a romantic relationship.
• They start talking about making money through investing or buying cryptocurrency.
• The scammer asks you invest or buy cryptocurrency.
• If you run out of money or ask for it back, they disappear.
• You can’t get your money back.
Protect yourself
• STOP – Don’t give personal information or act on investment advice from someone you have only met online. If you have any doubts, stop communicating with them.
• THINK – Do you really know who you’re communicating with? Scammers can use different profile pictures and lie about who they really are, especially online.
• PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank immediately if you’ve invested money. Help others by reporting scams to Scamwatch.
If you’ve been affected
• If you’ve lost money, contact your bank or financial institution as soon as possible.
• Contact the platform you were scammed on and let them know about the scam.
• Tell your friends and family, it helps to share your experience. They can support you and you can help protect them from scams.
The National Anti-Scam Centre are a specialised team within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that launched on 1 July 2023. Their aim is to make Australia a harder target for scammers. For more information about how to avoid or report a scam, visit the Scamwatch website.