This Scams Awareness Week, the ACMA warns the public to be on the lookout for love scams as scammers continue to target people by initiating contact to build a connection.

Scammers will contact people via different channels, including Instant Message on social media, WhatsApp, email, and SMS.

“They will then try and develop a relationship with you over time, pretending to be romantically or otherwise interested in you to gain your trust. These scams are designed to get you to provide money or personal information,” the ACMA said in a statement.

The ACMA gave the signs of a romance or relationship scam:

- Strangers may connect with someone and they may send a message that seems like an accident but introduce themselves and try to start a conversation.

- The contact becomes frequent and intimate – the scammer may contact multiple times a day and express strong feelings. They may ask to provide personal or intimate images that may be later used to coerce victims into paying them money.

- They ask victims to send or invest money. The scammer may claim that they need money due to an emergency or try to convince them to invest to make easy money.

- They try to get victims to click on a link to connect with them – these links will often have unusual or unfamiliar domain names and may lead to a fake website or contain malware designed to help steal victims’ personal or financial details.

The ACMA gave tips on how to protect victims:

- If one is unsure if a message or call is genuine, stop and check. Don’t rush to act.

- Do not give your personal information or send money to someone you haven’t met in person and don’t know.

- Do not click on any links in emails or texts. These may contain malware or may be phishing scams designed to steal your personal or financial details.

- Check in with family members and/or friends you trust to talk about any online request for money.

- If you think you’ve been scammed, contact your bank immediately to stop any payments and tell your telco.