He says relationship and trust fraud are one of the most common forms of scamming reported to the organisation.
In their 2021 annual report, 258 victims of romance fraud contacted them during the year, resulting in over 4 million dollars lost.
New Zealand Police are seeing an increase in reports of online scams.
“In general, there is an increasing number of scams operating on the online environment from anecdotal reports, as people these days spend more and more time online,” a Police spokesperson says.
Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Allan says they’ve seen a trend through reports, where scammers will move from dating applications such as Tinder to private messaging services such as WhatsApp.
Following this, they will request financial assistance after building trust with victims.
Tinder is used by around 75 million people worldwide according to EarthWeb.
The application is investing in ways to keep users safe, through a “robust suite of safety features and in-app safety education, fraud detection technology, and working directly with law enforcement when needed,” a Tinder spokesperson told Metro News.
Lyons says there can be shame associated with this type of fraud, and many victims will just accept the loss and walk away.
He believes this shouldn’t be the mutual feeling of those being scammed.
“You are a victim of a crime; you’ve been the target of someone who has a mechanism to defraud you of the money.”
Christchurch resident Catelynn Emilia, 28, has come across an abundance of online dating scammers.
They say most of the time fraudsters will message offering to be ‘Sugar Mamas’, a woman who offers financial support to a younger lover.
These messages are consistent for Emilia, and they explain that it’s common for the same copy-pasted message from various fake accounts.
21-year-old University of Canterbury student Dorian G. was in contact with a scammer for close to four months.
They developed an in-person relationship with the swindler and were conned into doing free labour, before being blackmailed into paying $2000.
Dorian never paid the sum of money, instead, they filed a restraining order against the scammer.
“I had to go to therapy afterwards. I lost someone who slowly became a friend and I felt betrayed.”
University of Canterbury Media and Communications Professor Donald Matheson says online dating fraud cases affect everyone differently.
However, he says the issue does make users less trusting of others.
“Don’t distrust everyone you meet, it’s not a good way to live your life. Look out for the warning signs, if money starts becoming involved or if they sound too good to be true, those are all good reasons to be skeptical.''
Netsafe is constantly working with victims and their families to minimise the impacts of scammers.
The organisation is made up of individuals who are keen consumers of online issues and threats, and have the expertise to provide guidance to communities.
Lyons says they are always engaging in online media awareness and education.
He believes with better education, fewer individuals will fall victim to dating scams, however with the direction of report numbers, he thinks online fraudulent behaviour will continue.
If you know you have been scammed, New Zealand Police advise to contact them immediately.
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