National Australia Bank
- Reports of romance scams increased 29% last year
- Expert shares top three red flags to watch out for ahead of Valentine’s Day
- NAB extends red flag campaign to dating apps to educate users on spotting a scammer
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, Aussies are being warned to remain vigilant for scammers, with NAB data revealing the number of customers reporting a romance scam has increased 29% year-on-year.
NAB Security Awareness Manager Laura Hartley said there were three main tactics criminals used when connecting with people looking for love, friendship or a casual fling online.
- The traditional approach, where criminals try to steal the victim’s heart by gaining their trust and then asking, pressuring or persuading them to send money.
- Romance baiting, where criminals initiate friendship via text or messaging apps and encourage victims to “invest” in cryptocurrency, shares, term deposits, or foreign currency exchanges.
- Sexual extortion, where criminals claim they have or get the victim to send compromising or sexual images. In both variations, the criminals demand payment in exchange for not sharing the images.
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