Adelaide woman transferred $50,000 to her boyfriend – then he disappeared

Australians looking online for love are often left heartbroken — and nationally more than $40 million out of pocket — police are warning as part of Scams Awareness Week.

Cold-hearted criminals are targeting lonely people through romance scams, with South Australia Police sharing the real-life story of Karen* from Adelaide who lost $50,000 to a fraudster.

Karen started a relationship, via an online platform, with a man who said he lived overseas.

After weeks of talking online and earning her trust, Karen’s boyfriend asked her for $50,000 to help fund his education.

Karen sent him the money, then decided to travel overseas to finally meet her boyfriend in person for the first time.

He never showed up.

“She has since ceased all contact with him but has been left emotionally broken, not to mention $50,000 poorer,” police said.

Romance scams cost Australians $40 million in 2023, and South Australians $2.1 million.

South Australia Police said such scams often happen on online dating websites, social media or email.

The criminals typically target people older than 55.

“Scammers typically create fake online profiles designed to lure you in,” SAPOL cybercrime division Sergeant David Mitchell said.

“They may use a fictional name, or falsely take on the identities of real, trusted people such as military personnel, aid workers or professionals working abroad.

“They have even been known to phone their victims as a first introduction. These scams are also known as ‘catfishing’.

“Once trust is established, the scammer will share elaborate stories and ask for money, for example to cover costs with illness, injury, family crises, or travel.

“In a technique called ‘romance baiting’, scammers may also develop a relationship before convincing victims to participate in a false investment, usually in cryptocurrency.”

What to look out for?

Police have listed a number of red flags to help identify romance scams:

• People who are quick to fall in love with you, or develop a fast, close friendship.
• Promises of love, overly flirtatious and complimentary.
• Scammers may send their victim small gifts to “ensure they are genuine”.
• More often than not, there is a reason why their webcam isn’t working.
• Promises to meet in person, however, there is always an excuse to delay.
• Scammers will tell you what to say to bank tellers/checkout operators when they ask what you want money/gift cards for.

To stay safe while talking to someone online, the advice is:

• Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.
• Always consider the possibility it may be a scam.
• Try to remove the emotion from your decision-making, no matter how caring or persistent the “prospective partner” is.
• Do a Google image search of your admirer to help confirm who they claim to be.
• Be alert to things such as spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistencies in their stories and other signs to indicate that it may be a scam.
• Be cautious when sharing personal pictures or videos with prospective partners, especially if you’ve never met them before. Scammers are known to blackmail their targets using compromising material.