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I have only been back at work a couple of weeks and already I am seeing a new trend in crimes targeting gays and lesbians.
A number of GLLOs have reported phone calls from people who have been asked to provide money through internet chat/matchmaker sites. In these instances there has generally been a very convincing story of woe that comes from the person, who I will call the scammer.
There is generally some grooming that takes place where the scammer gains the trust of the intended victim. This can take place over a number of weeks as the scammer slowly reveals difficulties they are facing in their life.
A common scenario involves a scammer saying they are in a rural town so homophobic they have to get out. Eventually a request for money comes, with a promise to pay it back as soon as they get to Melbourne.
While this scenario seems obviously a scam, it appears many people are falling for it. The scammers are targeting people in the hope the person is so embarrassed they won’t report it to police.
Some scammers have multiple profiles on the same and different websites, in the hope that they can convince one or two people to part with some cash.
So what can you do? If you believe you have been a victim of a scammer, report the profile of the scammer through the website. All of the chat/matchmaker websites have facilities to do this.
You can contact the police and discuss the situation, but one of the problems we have as police is that the victim has freely given money to the scammer. In some instances it may be more of a broken contract between the scammer and the victim, a civil rather than a criminal offence.
As police we need to prove that the scammer was acting dishonestly, which is not necessarily easy to prove beyond reasonable doubt.
To ensure a criminal conviction we need to prove a course of conduct that showed the dishonesty of the scammer. We need to show the court that this is a regular scam undertaken by the scammer. The cooperation of the website is required in these situations, which is why we need you to report the scam to both the website and the police.
If you feel you have been scammed, contact the website and then contact your local police.
info: Scott Davis, manager Gay and Lesbian Advisory Unit. melbourne.gllo@police.vic.gov.au. www.police.vic.gov.au
Tags: GLLO
