‘Sorry’ bank breaks Tinder swindle victim’s heart

A woman who lost more than $500,000 in a Tinder scam has seen her hopes of getting the money back fade even further after being told by her bank she is liable for the loss.

Stuff previously revealed three women, Joanne, Donna, and Samantha – not their real names to protect their identities – collectively lost more than $2 million to men they met through dating app Tinder in near identical cons.

The elaborate scams, believed to be run by organised criminal groups overseas, involved fake news videos, a fake bank site and dozens of emails and daily phone calls.

Joanne lost $540k to a man whose name was given as Dale Plumides, who was using photos of a Dallas real estate agent for the Tinder profile.

This week Joanne received an email from Westpac’s financial crime team informing her they had been unable to recover any of her money.

‘‘Our findings did not show any evidence to suggest that the bank’s security relating to your online banking has been breached, nor was there a case of payment system fraud or failure that would qualify for reimbursement under Westpac’s general terms and conditions.

‘‘While we sympathise with your situation, given that the bank believes these transactions are authorised, unfortunately you are liable for the loss.

‘‘I understand that this must be very hard for you not only financially but emotionally, and I’m sorry there isn’t more that we are able to do for you.’’

The staff member recommended that Joanne continue to follow up with the police regarding her case, as they may be able to seek reparation through the courts.

Westpac also loaded a warning onto her bank profile in case fraudsters attempted to use personal information to access her accounts via its contact centre.

Joanne also received an update from police about their investigation.

An officer from the local investigation support unit said the file had been assigned to an investigator for ‘‘a bit of further digging’’ into the Kiwibank account to which her money was transferred.

‘‘From my experience, the circumstances in your report are consistent with romance scams that originate overseas.

‘‘The NZ bank account, at the moment, is the only line of inquiry that we have in NZ as we do not have the legal ability or jurisdiction to investigate overseas bank accounts or persons of interest.’’