ACCC plans to enact dating sites scam guidelines

David Heath
Sunday, 04 December 2011 20:00

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Sometimes the hottie on the 'find-me-a-lifelong-partner' website is not what they claim to be.  That's fine if all it costs you is a few drinks at the local bar; not so fine if you're thousands out of pocket.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, "between January and October 2011, more than 1600 complaints and over 17 million dollars in losses have been reported to the ACCC. In 2010 over 15 million dollars in losses were reported.

"These scams typically involve a genuine user of a dating website being contacted by a potential admirer who is a scammer in disguise. After forming a relationship with the victim, the scammer plays on emotional triggers to get the victim to provide money, gifts or personal details."

That's over $10k per complaint!

In response, the ACCC has issued draft guidelines and is calling on the online dating and romance industry to comment prior to their launch early in 2012.

The ACCC describes the typical scam as having a genuine dating site user contacted by a possible admirer who, following establishing some kind of relationship, makes use of a variety of emotional triggers to convince the victim to part with money or gifts.  That has to be one of the lowest acts of unmitigated scum.

The proposed guideline contains three general areas of action:

• scam warnings and safety information - content and placement online and communication with customers
• internal verification processes and procedures in relation to profiles placed on dating websites to detect and disrupt the activities of those seeking to engage in fraud
• internal complaints handling procedures

The actions detailed in the guidelines are intended to be flexible and their implementation should be adapted to fit the layout, user base and business model of each dating website.

Comments (preferably from existing dating and romance website operators) should be directed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it