Romance scammers gear up for Valentine’s

SYDNEY // Love may be in the air on Valentine’s Day, but authorities in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday warned of an increase in online scams cheating lonely people out of their savings.

Romance scams cost victims more than any other form of cheating, with those aged over 45 more likely to be stung, said the Australian competition and consumer commission (ACCC).

Victims are lured with promises of love and companionship into giving strangers money, with criminals contacting targets by social media. “Romance scammers are getting increasingly manipulative, so if you are going online this Valentine’s Day to look for love it’s absolutely vital that you’re able to recognise the warning signs,” said ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard.

“Scammers create very believable profiles, including stealing the identities of real, trusted people. If you meet someone who seems too good to be true, do some research to see if they are the real deal.”

Malaysian and Singapore police said 27 people, including 11 Nigerians, were arrested in a joint operation against a syndicate preying on people seeking partners.

The syndicate cheated 108 people in the neighbouring countries out of about 21.6 million Malaysian ringgit (Dh17.8m) last year, authorities said inKuala Lumpur.

Acryl Sani, director of Malaysia’s commercial crime investigation department, said 43 people from Singapore and 65 from Malaysia had fallen victim to the scam, . David Chew, director of Singapore’s commercial affairs department, said online scams were increasingly complex and transnational.

“To the criminals who think that they could hide behind the cloak of anonymity provided by the internet to perpetrate fraud, we want to send a deterrent message that crime does not pay.”