Love may be in the air on Valentine’s Day, but authorities in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore have warned of a growth in online scams that cheat lonely people off their savings.
According to a report by AFP, Romance scams cost Australians more money than any other form of cheating. Victims are lured with promises of love and companionship into giving strangers money.
Mumbai resident Vaibhav Vishal was recently approached by a woman on Twitter, who said she wanted to marry him and asked him to transfer a large amount of money into her account. Vaibhav was smart enough to realise that it was a scam and after a series of direct messages on Twitter, managed to drive her away.
Unfortunately, most people fall for online dating scams as these numbers suggest. According to a Buzzfeed report, The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), part of the City of London police, said on Monday that 3,889 victims came forward last year – a 13.5 per cent increase on 2015 and 28 per cent more than the number reported in 2013.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian and Singapore police said 27 suspects -- including 11 Nigerians, whose country is notorious for offshore financial swindles -- were arrested in a joint operation against a syndicate preying on people seeking partners, according to AFP.
The same report said that the accused cheated 108 people in the neighbouring countries out of about 21.6 million ringgit ($4.9 million) in 2016, authorities said in the Malaysian capital.
In 2013, on Valentine's Day, the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a message warning individuals on the dangers of online scams. "Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every year, hoping to find a companion or even a soul mate. But today, on Valentine’s Day, we want to warn you that criminals use these sites, too, looking to turn the lonely and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of scams.
"These criminals—who also troll social media sites and chat rooms in search of romantic victims—usually claim to be Americans traveling or working abroad. In reality, they often live overseas. Their most common targets are women over 40, who are divorced, widowed, and/or disabled, but every age group and demographic is at risk," the FBI wrote.
In 2012, Professor Monica Whitty, of the University of Leicester, said that the trauma caused by online dating scams is worse than any other, because the victims experienced 'double hit' – loss of money and loss of 'romantic relationship hit'.
During his research, Professor Whitty asked them about their relationship history; what psychological state they were in before the scam; the full description of the scam; why they believe they were persuaded to part with money (if they did); details of what happened after the scam (eg how police dealt with it); how they were psychologically affected by the scam; and what their current state is.
The results showed that basic marketing techniques were used to groom victims, increasing the feelings of a genuine relationship and leaving victims susceptible to fraud.
"Our data suggests that the numbers of British victims of this relatively new crime is much higher than reported incidents show. It also confirms law enforcement suspicions that this is an underreported crime, and thus more serious than first thought," he said.
"This is a concern not solely because people are losing large sums of money to these criminals, but also because of the psychological impact experienced by victims of this crime. It is our view that the trauma caused by this scam is worse than any other, because of the 'double hit' experienced by the victims – loss of money and loss of 'romantic relationship,'" she noted.
HOW DO YOU RECOGNISE AN ONLINE DATING SCAM ARTIST?
- Recognising an Online Dating Scam Artist
- Your online “date” may only be interested in your money if he or she:
- Presses you to leave the dating website you met through and to communicate using personal e-mail or instant messaging;
- Professes instant feelings of love;
- Sends you a photograph of himself or herself that looks like something from a glamour magazine;
- Claims to be from the U.S. and is travelling or working overseas;
- Makes plans to visit you but is then unable to do so because of a tragic event; or
- Asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, hotel bills, hospitals bills for child or other relative, visas or other official documents, losses from a financial setback or crime victimisation).
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