A proactive police initiative to combat online fraud has made great gains in one of the hardest battles of all: convincing people they are the victim of cyber fraud and to stop sending money, a QUT criminologist says.
The article in Policing authored by Dr Cassandra Cross, from QUT's School of Justice, and Detective Senior Sergeant Dom Blackshaw from WA Police, said Project Sunbird, conducted by Western Australia Police (WAPOL) and the Department of Commerce, used financial intelligence to pinpoint potential victims to help maximise police resources to prevent online fraud.
"Even though, Australians lost about $23 million last year to online fraud, one of the biggest challenges for police is the inability of victims to recognise they are being defrauded by scams ranging from romance, to competition winnings, inheritance or investment opportunities.
"Because the offenders can skilfully build online relationships over many months, victims believe they are in a bona fide love or business relationship and do not question why they are asked to continually send large amounts of money overseas."
Dr Cross said WAPOL had used financial intelligence to identify people who had sent money to one of five West African countries associated with online fraud and warn them they could be victims.
"An analysis of the outcomes of the 1969 letters sent to potential victims between Mary 2013 to May 2014 shows that about 66 per cent of potential victims stop sending money after receipt of this first letter, and another 14 per cent reduced the amount of money they sent overseas," Dr Cross said.
"Not everyone who received a letter from WAPOL stopped sending money. In some cases they increased the amount.
"These people received a second letter and a Help for Victims factsheet which contains tell-tale signs of being scammed, counselling services, and post-scamming safety.
"About 44 per cent who received a second letter stopped payments and about 33 per cent decrease the amount.
"After three months only 4 per cent of victims who stopped payments after the first letter resumed them."
Dr Cross said Project Sunbird staff made home visits to people identified at high risk of travelling overseas to meet their alleged offender (through information passed on by concerned family member) or who had sent a lot of money in a short time to explain why they might be victims of fraud.
"This project has proved that a proactive approach reduces financial losses to online scams and also the emotional impact on victims which includes relationship breakdowns and psychological trauma to self-harm and suicide."
Dr Cross said other outcomes from the project were a greater knowledge of the extent and techniques of online scammers, an increase in the recognition of online fraud victims' plight, an increase in efficient use of police resources and an improvement in police investigations and operations.
A copy of the full article is available here.
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, QUT media, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au.
