People over the age of 55 make up half the losses reported to Scamwatch and almost three in five victims were women, often targeted through social networking sites.
The consumer watchdog has warned that the increased loneliness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the drivers behind Australians losing more than $200 million to romance scammers last year.
“The pandemic has made it easier for the scammer to come up with excuses for why they can’t meet you in person,” Ms Rickard said. People over the age of 55 make up half the losses reported to Scamwatch and almost three in five victims were women. Most losses came through contact on social networking sites and online forums, but mobile apps were another significant source.
She said scammers were usually quick to profess their love, but full of plausible excuses why they could not meet in person. While they often asked for funds with sob stories and plausible scenarios about why they can’t get to their money, the latest twist was to offer to help victims make an investment.podcast, said loneliness was a complex emotion, or cluster of emotions, that could be heightened during holidays such as Valentine’s Day.