Australians lost $40 million to online dating scams this year

Australians have lost $250 million to online dating scams so far this year, according to a cyber security expert.
Melbourne-based Aaron Bugal told Gary Adshead, filling in for Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings, that scammers use sophisticated techniques to lure the victims in.
“The scammers take a lot of time to actually profile you using your online social footprint,” he said on 6PR Mornings.
“So if you’ve got Facebook or Instagram, and if any of this is open to the public, they’ll take stock of your likes your dislikes what your interests are.
“And then when they do actually make that initial contact, they are going straight for the heart strings to try and get that emotional connection, and get you emotionally involved in the situation, and that’s when they’ve got their hooks in.”
Press PLAY to hear more about how scammers operate below
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