Sisters In Law: How to confront an online romance scammer

A woman has found messages on her brother’s computer asking women for huge sums of money for various situations – none of which were real.

Welcome to Sisters In Law, news.com.au’s weekly column solving all of your legal problems. This week, our resident lawyers and real-life sisters Alison and Jillian Barrett from Maurice Blackburn advise a woman about what to do after uncovering her brother is a romance scammer.

Question:

“My older brother has always been a bit of a larrikin but I thought in a harmless way – until recently. I was at his place doing some cleaning while he was out one day when I came across his laptop with loads of messages from women on it.

“Thinking it would be amusing, I gave them a quick read. I was horrified to realise that each of the women knew him by different names and he had different pictures – none of which were of him – for every profile. I was even more horrified to see that he was asking the women for huge sums of money for various “situations” he’d found himself in – none of which were real.

“I think my brother is a romance scammer but I’m not sure what to do about it. Should I confront him or go to the police? I love him but I can’t live with myself knowing he’s taking money from women who think they’re in love with him.” – Tracey, QLD

RELATED: What to do if a family member borrows money

The Queensland woman came across her brother’s laptop with messages from women and was horrified by what she read. Picture: Getty Images

Answer:

The question of whether to confront your brother or go to the police is one you will need to answer yourself, but hopefully the information we provide you about his behaviour assists you in making this decision.

The behaviour your brother is involved in is known as catfishing.

This occurs when someone pretends to be someone they are not on an online platform, generally with an ulterior motive.

It is often used across social media platforms for bullying purposes, or through online dating to pursue someone romantically under false pretences – in your brother’s case, to secure money.

Catfishing itself is not a crime under the law. However, it can lead to charges for other criminal offences.

For example, your brother’s behaviour could be classified as fraud, which is a crime with hefty financial penalties and potential jail time.

RELATED: Mum livid over reaction to ‘dodgy’ microwave

Catfishing itself is not a crime under the law but the behaviour itself could be classified as fraud. Picture: Getty Images

For a fraud prosecution, it would need to be shown that:

By deception, your brother acted dishonestly (by either using a false name or a fictitious story);

1. This conduct caused a financial advantage over the female victim or caused the victim to suffer a disadvantage;

2. His conduct was intentional or reckless.

3. Repeatedly making contact with his victims in a way that is threatening, unwanted or harassing could amount to stalking, which is also a criminal offence.

It is unclear if your brother is using a dating website, social media or other platform to attract and catch his victims.

This behaviour likely violates the terms of use of the particular social media or dating platform, meaning his behaviour should also be reported to the relevant platform to ensure his profile is suspended immediately and to protect his victims.

If the messages and information your brother is sharing is obscene, threatening or offensive, there are also Commonwealth charges that he could face related to using a carriage service (the internet or social media) to menace, harass or cause offence.

If the messages and information your brother is sharing is obscene, threatening or offensive, there are also Commonwealth charges that he could face. Picture: iStock

You haven’t indicated the age of the victims, however if they are under 16, there are many other offences that your brother could be charged with depending on the nature of the messages, particularly if they are sexual in nature.

Generally speaking, it is not an offence for you not to report a crime, but there are some exceptions to this if the criminal activity relates to a sexual offence against a child.

If you raise the behaviour with your brother, and then attempt to cover up his crimes by deleting all the messages or proactively assisting him to cover his tracks, you could then be charged with the criminal offence of accessory after the fact.

This legal information is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific legal advice or relied upon. Persons requiring particular legal advice should consult a solicitor.

If you have a legal question you would like Alison and Jillian to answer, please email [e-mail]

Get more from Alison and Jillian on their Facebook page