Scammers On Dating Websites

Spoke on the Today Show this morning about scams that involve dating sites and how scammers will monitor chat rooms and online social sites to find discussions about nothing to do/no-one to see for Valentine’s Day. They will then prey on the individuals with fake profiles to entice online communication with the view to extract money once they have gained your trust. Once they have your money you won’t hear from them again or they’ll make an excuse and string the victim along further.

Another scam is E-CARDS on Valentine’s Day. It could be a phishing scheme to obtain personal information or to infect your computer with spyware.

Then there are links to dating websites that aren’t really dating websites that get you to sign up, thus gaining all your personal details and extracting a start-up fee. Avoid these links and stick with Australian dating sites so you have more recourse should you not get what you were promised.

Further information on dating scams at www.scamwatch.gov.au.