Australians have once again been urged to be on the lookout for sneaky online scams after a man lost $13,000 in seconds to a fake Tinder user who claimed to be investing in cryptocurrency.
The man, known only as Andrew, recently fell victim to a scammer known as “Zoe” who stole his savings.
Andrew and Zoe had been chatting for weeks on the popular online dating app before the scammer slowly gained their trust.
She told Andrew that she was investing in cryptocurrencies and was making a lot of money and encouraged him to start trading the digital currency through an online platform.
The unsuspecting Australian decided to try his luck after Zoe helped him open an account before making a small first investment.
He received money in return before deciding to take out a bank loan of $13,000 and make a larger investment.
Shortly after, Andrew suddenly realized that his savings were gone when he was unable to withdraw the funds.
The scammer also stopped communicating with him immediately.
The scammer told Andrew that she was investing in cryptocurrencies and was making a lot of money and encouraged him to start trading the digital currency through an online platform (stock image)
The hack was shared by South Australia Police as part of its annual Scam Awareness Week, which began on Monday and runs through Friday.
South Australian Police Cyber Crime Senior Constable Casey Morrison urged people to be on the lookout for scams that are designed to exploit people’s trust.
“Investment scams involve promises of big payouts, quick money or guaranteed returns,” said Agent Morrison.
‘In addition to the traditional way of transferring funds via bank transfer, cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular due to the perceived anonymity they offer.
‘Crypto scams often aim to obtain private information, such as security codes, or trick an unsuspecting person into sending cryptocurrency to a compromised digital wallet.’
Investment scams cost Australians around $1.3 billion in 2023. South Australian residents lost more than $10.2 million in the same year alone.
Andrew and Zoe had been chatting for weeks on Tinder, with the scammer slowly gaining their trust before discussing the cryptocurrency investment opportunity (stock image)
“While this amount is alarming, the actual losses are likely to be significantly higher because many people do not report when they have been scammed,” said Agent Morrison.
Victims over the age of 65 lost the most money to investment scams, with the average amount lost being $30,000.
Australians are urged not to engage in investment opportunities that promise high rates of return with very little risk.
Scammers target victims through social media ads and fraudulent websites to trick them into transferring their money to fake investment funds.
Investment scams also often contain several grammatical errors or typos.
Personal information, including mobile phone numbers, identification documents and banking details, should always be protected.
Details of these accounts must not be shared with anyone else or any third party.
Investment scams claimed an estimated $1.3 billion from Australians in 2023, with South Australian residents losing more than $10.2 million in the same year alone (file image)
