SA Police warn of recent local scams, and how to prevent being victim to ploys

South Australian victims, including a mother who lost $6,000, share stories on how they were swindled out of thousands of dollars in recent months. It comes as SA Police share advice on the warning signs for current scams.

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A southern suburbs mother who lost $6000 in a romance scam has warned people to be careful about the information they share on social media.

The woman, who wanted to be known only as Lisa to protect her privacy, was contacted on Facebook Messenger by a man named “David”.

“We would message each other all the time,” said Lisa, who had her relationship status on Facebook as “widow”.

David, who said he was a US businessman, told Lisa he would fly to Adelaide to “live the dream” with her.

After three months, David told Lisa he had no money.

“I sent him a few transactions. I put my car into Cash Converters … for $3000,” Lisa said.

She eventually lost about $6000 to David, only cutting ties after police contacted her to tell her she was the victim of a scam.

Scammers cost South Australians about $5.7 million last year and there were 13,000 victims.

Speaking as part of Scam Awareness Week, Sergeant Jonathon Newman, from SA Police’s Cybercrime Investigation Branch, said romance scams were the most heartbreaking.

“Not only do the victims lose their hard earned cash, but they also lose that friend and that companionship,” Sergeant Newman said.

He said many scams followed the theme of current events. A recent scam included an email from an address consistent with a retail outlet asking for extra delivery money due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Another included a text that looked like it was from the government, but that led the recipient to a malicious site.