Over 5,000 Australians victimized by PH-based love scam center

Around 5,000 Australians were victimized by a love scam center operating in the Philippines, raising serious concerns from its government.

Kathleen Dehlers of the Australian Federal Police said around AUS $24 million were lost to the scammers, who targeted mostly male Australian nationals aged 35 to 80 via online dating apps.

"It's devastating," Dehlers told GMA News Online in an interview. 

"Some lost their entire life savings and then they find out they have been tricked," she added.

The scam targeting a huge number of Australians was uncovered in August last year, prompting Canberra to seek cooperation with Philippine authorities.

Dehlers said a script, used to build fake romantic relationships with Australian victims, was uncovered during a recent operation to bring down an online scam compound in Pasay City.

It includes a backstory, emotive and affectionate language, and a daily timeline to help the scammer engage and maintain conversation with the victim for up to one week.

Cryptocurrency

The scammer would portray a kind-hearted Filipino woman living in Australia or a local female resident in the Philippines, heartbroken by an ex-fiancée who wanted "my money, not my love."

They would subtly introduce cryptocurrency trading into the conversation as their side job before framing it as a successful financial venture that helped them achieve significant wealth.

The scammer would offer to teach the victim how to make a cryptocurrency investment of between AUD $300 to $800.

The fraudster would then ask the victim to transfer their funds from a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange platform to the scammer's online crypto account. The scammer would continue to press the victim to make more investments of higher amounts.

"It is a very structured seven-day scheme winning people's trust and confidence," Dehlers said.

PAOCC

Australian authorities, she said, worked closely with Filipino counterparts, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to help identify the potential Australian victims.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year ordered the banning of widespread Chinese-run online gaming operations in the Philippines, accusing some of venturing into crimes including money scams, human trafficking, kidnappings, torture, and murder.

While some POGO operations have decreased over the months, dozens continue to operate on a smaller scale across the country and have evolved into scam centers, engaging in love scams, the PAOCC said.

"International partnership is very important to address this problem. This is not just one country's problem, this is an international problem," Dehlers said.

"If we bring our skills to the table, we fight a standing chance to keep our citizens safe and keep these people out of business."

-VAL, GMA Integrated News