Romance fraud occurs when someone develops an illusion of a relationship with you as a means to scam you out of your money. These romance scams can be highly sophisticated, sometimes operated by crime syndicates over the span of several years.

Romance fraudsters typically build fake online profiles to gain your affection and earn your trust. When the time is right, they will ask for your money and/or personal details, taking advantage of your feelings and providing false information to encourage your cooperation.

If this sounds familiar, please contact IFW as soon as possible to start an investigation.

Yes. It is becoming more and more common for criminals to utilise dating sites and apps to seek out vulnerable users looking for love and lure them into a scam. Masked by a false identity, these scammers often go undetected by site and app regulators.

Although conventional dating and romance scams generally target older victims, online romance scams tend to target those under 35 so it is important to be aware of the warning signs at any age.

Watch out for the following red flags of an online dating scam:

• They say they have strong feelings for you and want to take your communications somewhere more private – after only a few conversations.
• They send vague, poorly-written messages.
• The information on their profile does not align with how they describe themselves to you or how they behave.
• Once they have won your affections, they ask you for money, presents or your banking details.
• If you don’t send money, their communications become desperate, relentless and potentially even aggressive. If you do transfer money, they keep requesting more.
• They always give an excuse for why they are unable to meet you in person, and why they always require more financial support.

If you are using dating apps, websites or social media platforms, you can help to protect yourself against romance scams with the below steps:

• Think carefully about which personal details you make public online, as scammers can use this information to target you with a scam and even commit identity theft.
• Research the person’s information and photographs on Google to confirm whether images, names and other details have been used anywhere else.
• Be aware of inconsistencies in their communications, spelling and grammar errors, and red flags such as their camera never working.
• Never send money to the person, particularly through a wire transfer, money order or international funds transfer – these methods make it extremely challenging to recover any losses.
• Never transfer funds on behalf of someone else, as this may be considered money laundering.
• Never share intimate photos or communications with the person, as they may use this information to blackmail you in the future.
• Be sceptical if the person always has an excuse as to why they cannot meet you face-to-face. then always comes up with an excuse why he or she can’t.
• If you plan to meet the person face-to-face, share your arrangements with family and friends so that they know exactly where you are going. Avoid travelling overseas.

If you suspect that you have been targeted by a romance scam, please take the following actions as soon as possible:

• Report the scam to the dating site, app, or social media platform where the orchestrator initially contacted you. Detail the scammer’s profile name and any other information that may help regulators to shut down the account.
• Notify your financial institutions that you have been the victim of a scam, as well as freeze your bank accounts and credit cards.
• Report the scam to the ACCC’s Scamwatch.
• Report the theft to your local police if money has been stolen.
• Contact IFW Global to begin an investigation into the scam.

Romance scam investigations tend to take between one and three months. This time frame ranges according to the sophistication of the scam and whether you would like to take legal action against its orchestrator(s).

If the perpetrator is identified and tracked down, our investigators can work closely with law enforcement officials to help file search warrants and/or criminal charges against them – a complicated task that may extend the overall process.

The cost of a romance scam investigation rests in the complexity of the circumstances at hand, the losses incurred, and the jurisdiction in which the offence has been committed.

Prior to beginning the investigation, our investigators will provide you with a personalised proposal that breaks down a recommended budget to maximise the chances of a successful outcome.

The probability of a successful investigation depends on the distinct circumstances of the case in question. The more actionable evidence our investigators gather, the stronger the chances that you will be able to take legal action against the perpetrator.

To estimate the likelihood of a successful outcome, we will perform a preliminary assessment of your case. Armed with this expert insight, you may choose whether or not to commence the romance scam investigation.