DO not think for one minute that Moora or any regional towns is isolated from fraudsters.
DO not think for one minute that Moora or any regional towns is isolated from fraudsters.
There has already been cases of victims caught up in what they believe to be a sound investment.
Currently there are 20 suspected romance or investment fraud victims in Broome who have transferred a total of $76,684 to Africa since July 2012.
The tip-of-the-iceberg figures, which do not take into account money sent to fraudsters in other countries, have prompted a visit to the town by Detectives working on Project Sunbird – a joint anti-fraud initiative between WA Police Major Fraud Squad and Consumer Protection.
Head of the WA Police Major Fraud Squad, Detective Senior Sergeant Dom Blackshaw said his officers would make home visits in Broome, with the aim of preventing fraud victims sending more money to organised criminals.
“We identify potential victims by looking at money transfers from Western Australia to countries such as Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
“Letters are then sent to those people to advise them that they may be caught up in a fraud and thankfully about 60 per cent stop sending money as a result of that letter.
“There are however some who need further convincing and in Broome we do have a couple of people who require a face-to-face meeting and need to see the evidence in front of them before they can accept they are being lied to by overseas criminals.
“It is particularly hard to undo months of social grooming, which leaves the victim thinking they are in a romantic relationship or awaiting a windfall through an investment scheme.”
Snr Sgt Blackshaw said this is a much bigger problem than the hundreds of thousands of dollars heading from WA to Africa each month.
“There are fraud victims sending funds to other places including Europe, the United States and Asia.
“In the Kimberley, for example, we know of a man who has sent $385,000 to Malaysia after connecting with someone he believed to be a woman, via a seniors dating website.”
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said Consumer Protection’s senior regional officers provided great on-the-ground support during regional trips to Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Katanning, and now Broome.
She added that work continues behind the scenes at the Perth office to alert and help fraud victims.
“In October for example, more than 200 letters were posted to Western Australians believed to be caught up in these consumer frauds; our Project Sunbird officers helped 20 victims, or relatives of victims; and the total reported monetary loss was $2,371,286.
“One-to-one conversations often prevent victims from: being used as mules to launder dirty money for overseas criminals who transfer funds into the victim’s bank account and ask them to forward it on; or taking dangerous trips overseas to meet with organised criminal gangs who pose as love interests, friends, or investment scheme operators to extort money from victims.
“WA ScamNet continues to shut down dodgy email or social media accounts, bogus dating website profiles.
“We also report wire transfer recipient details to Western Union to prevent identities being re-used in fraudulent transactions.”
More information about Project Sunbird including victim stories and a factsheet are available at scamnet.wa.gov.au
If you would like to talk to WA ScamNet about a suspected scam/fraud you can do so call 1300 304 054 or email wascamnet@commerce.wa.gov.au.