Consumer groups call on Government to block scammers this Valentine’s Day
New protections needed to cover key businesses enabling romance scammers.
A coalition of consumer advocacy groups, financial counselling organisations and community legal centres, including CHOICE, Financial Counselling Australia, Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), Financial Rights Legal Centre (FRLC), Mob Strong Debt Help, Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA), Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) and Super Consumers Australia have launched an open letter urging the Government to plug the glaring gaps in their proposed scam protections.
The Government’s new Scams Prevention Framework, passed by Parliament in February last year, is a positive step towards protecting Australians. However, the current proposals place no obligations on businesses where scammers are rife, like dating apps, email services, online marketplaces, superannuation funds and many others.
Since 2020, Australians have lost over $220 million to dating and romance scams alone. Romance scams can have a particularly devastating impact on victims, often targeting people experiencing vulnerability over long periods of time – causing catastrophic emotional and financial harm.
As protections tighten in some areas, scammers will be quick to shift to the unregulated platforms and payment pathways.
Quote attributable to Morgan Campbell, Head of Policy, CHOICE:
“Valentine’s Day is a time for connection, but that’s true for scammers too. While we welcome the Government’s proposed scam protections, they leave common pathways for scammers wide open.”
“A framework with such big and obvious gaps will be a treasure map for scammers. They’ll see where the weakest links are, they’ll exploit them, and Australians will keep losing money while scammers and big businesses cash in. It’s time for Minister Mulino to force businesses to break up with scammers, and fix the gaps in this framework.”
Quote attributable to Stephanie Tonkin, CEO, Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC):
“We hear from people who’ve not only lost their life savings to a romance scam, but their trust, dignity and sense of self. These crimes are cruel and deeply personal, and the $28 million lost last year represents real heartbreak – not statistics. Most of these scams start on dating apps, yet incredibly they’re still missing from the proposed Scam Prevention Framework. We’re urging Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino to close this painful gap. Australians deserve protection wherever love – or the hope of it – takes them online.”
Quote attributable to Carol Bennett, CEO, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN):
“We must make sure that anti-scam laws are as robust as possible, from the outset. Anything less, and emotional and financial distress for Australian consumers is bound to continue.”
Quote attributable to Alexandra Kelly, Director of Caswork, Financial Rights Legal Centre (FRLC):
“Placing the burden on a broken-hearted consumer – at the lowest point in their life – to fight to get their money back when they are the victim is topsy turvy. The onus should be on all businesses who platform scammers to close the loopholes – not the scam victim.”
Infographic: Key scams pathways won’t be covered by Government’s proposed protections (available for download)
Sign the open letter: www.choice.com.au/ScamsLetter
Read more in the joint-consumer sector submission:
ENDS
Media contact: Mark Pearce mark@consumeraction.org.au Tel: 0413 299 567
