JOHN'S STORY

For businessman John, the sophisticated scam which cost him $360,000 also cost him his trust in people. John told news.com.au the elaborate scheme had him fooled with contracts, bank transfers, customs records and emails from a woman who told him she lived in Malaysia. John said electronic communication made it easier than ever before and he warned against ever sending money, even if the recipient seemed legitimate. “Just do not do it”, he said. This whole thing has made me so cynical, l used to be considerate and trust people but not anymore.

Detective Superintendent Brain Hay from Queensland Police Fraud and Cyber Crime Group told news.com.au that these are common stories. He estimated that Australians are losing over $8million a month to overseas romance fraud schemes. And that figure alone is mostly lost to scammers in Nigeria and Ghana. He warned potential online daters to exercise extreme caution as scammers become more and more sophisticated.