Looking for love online? Protect yourself from scammers this Valentine’s Day

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, consumer protection agencies across the country are advising people looking for love to recognise the signs of a romance or dating scam.

While romances which start on dating apps, social media and websites can result in happily ever after for many, there are also serious risks involved when seeking romance online.

In 2023, Australians reported more than $30 million of romance and dating scam losses to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch. The highest amount of losses were attributed to interactions on social media.

Even if you avoid dating sites, you still need to look out for romance scams – scammers constantly adapt their tactics and use a range of channels to target victims, including gaming apps and social media.

People aged 55 – 64 years reported the highest financial loss from dating and romance scams, with losses of over $10 million. The highest number of reports came from people aged 35 – 44.

Scammers may use a fake name or steal the identity of real people to fabricate their online profile. This can include military personnel, aid workers, or professionals working abroad.

They will often sound too good to be true, featuring an appealing profile and claiming to have similar interests or experiences to you.

If you’re speaking to a scammer, they may quickly express strong feelings for you, and then spend many months building up trust, before asking for money.

Common red flags to spot when dating online include:

• The person you’ve met wants to take the conversation off the dating website or app quickly. This includes wanting to communicate over email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp or Signal.
• After building up trust, they ask for money to help cover personal costs. Scammers are creative and come up with a range of scenarios. These can include needing money for expenses such as illness, injury, business expenses, duty or customs fees, legal costs, family crises, or travel.
• They make excuses to avoid meeting in person, or they are always unavailable for a video call.
• If you don’t send money immediately, their messages and calls become more desperate, persistent or direct. If you do send money, they continue to ask for more.

Stay safe when dating online by following these tips:

• Do a reverse-image search on Google or TinEye. This can help determine if their profile image is legitimate.
• Arrange to meet in person early on, or ask to speak via video.
• Avoid any arrangement that involves paying money. This includes via money order, wire transfer, international funds transfer, pre-loaded card or gift card, or electronic currency, like bitcoin. If you are the victim of a scam, it can be impossible to recover money sent through these methods.
• Never share your banking or credit card details with someone you’ve never met in person.
• Be mindful of how many personal details you share on social media. Scammers can use your information to create a fake identity or to target you with a scam.
• If you’ve already shared your bank account details with a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Many victims of romance scams are also at risk of fraud. This can include scammers setting up new mobile phone accounts in their name or accessing their superannuation account.

Be careful with the personal information you share with the person you’re speaking to online, and never share your personal identification documents such as your driver’s licence or passport.

If you think a friend or family member may be the victim of a romance scam, talk to them about the warning signs, and share our tips on staying safe.

If you or someone you know has fallen victim to identity theft, it’s important to act quickly to reduce any further damage. IDCARE is a free, government-funded service which will work with you to develop a response plan specific to your situation and support you through the process. Go to the IDCARE website or call 1300 IDCARE (432273).

You can report scams, go to the national Scamwatch service website.

For more information on Romance scams.