Australians were duped out of tens of millions of dollars through online dating and romance scams last year, and one state was hit the most.
Australians are being warned to watch out for dating and romance scams on the day of love as new data reveals an eye-watering amount of money was reported lost last year.
More than 3400 reports of dating and romance scams were received in 2021, equating to a loss of about $56m – a 44 per cent increase on the 2020 figure.
More than half of all reports made to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) were from romance scams on social media or dating apps.
But the consumer law regulator believes scam losses are likely to be much higher than what was recorded to Scamwatch, with only about 13 per cent of all scam victims reporting the incident.
Those aged 55 years and over made up almost 50 per cent of the losses, equating to about $25m, and women reported higher losses than men.
NSW recorded the biggest deficit of about $15m, with 1055 reports of romance scams made over the past 12 months.
It was followed by Victoria with $12m from 684 scams, while the Northern Territory had the least recorded scams, with 39 reports and $136,593 lost.
ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said Australians should never give money or personal or financial information to someone they’d only met online.
She said it was important to look out for friends or family members who used online dating apps and to talk about how to spot romance scams…
