Police in Burwood, Sydney, Australia, are investigating recent fraud cases whereby local women were targeted in online dating sites. The women are lured into an online relationship, complete with emails and phone calls, and once they gain their trust they ask for money. The con artists in these cases are based in Singapore and Malaysia.
In one case a lady sent over $100,000. And in nearby Erskineville a woman was tricked into sending $275,000 to a con artist in England.
The scam begins with an ad on an online dating website, targeting asian women in Sydney. They describe themselves as wealthy bankers or businessmen. They send photos, stolen from other websites on the internet. They lure their victim along for up to six months, gaining their trust, and eventually start asking for money.
These scams happen all over the world. Please help raise awareness by talking about this issue with people you know.
Note: because I used the words “online dating”, Google has placed ads on this page with links to online dating websites. Some people who post ads on these sites are not genuine, use your own judgement here.