Elderly women are most at risk, but GPs can help by making sure patients get the right advice, writes Kemal Aylay from Australian Doctor. Online dating and romance scams are becoming increasingly common thanks to the popularity of dating sites and social media. Victims of these scams are often left emotionally and financially devastated, with family members sometimes begging their GPs to step in. We spoke with Dr Ian Taylor, chairman of the Midwest GP Network in Geraldton, WA, has decided to offer local doctors support and education on how they can help.
What prompted you to get involved in this issue?
Dr Ian Taylor: An elderly woman in Geraldton was left mentally broken and scarred after she was conned out of about $200,000. It devastated her family, who realised the widow was a victim of a romance scam, but the poor woman would not believe it. She was in denial about it all.
The situation escalated to the point where the local Department of Commerce had to go around to all the shops in town and block this woman from buying iTunes gift cards, which was one of the ways the scammers would get her money. It was very tragic.
But that’s how these scammers work — they target lonely people and groom them like sex predators and paedophiles with a false persona online. It can be very difficult to work out whether it’s real or not.
There has been this view that the victims of these scams are addicted to love. Does that view have much substance?
Dr Taylor: I don’t think they’re addicts in the same way as gambling addicts. The scammers target lonely people and, in some cases, people who have been recently bereaved. You’ve lost your husband, you’re feeling very lonely and somehow you come into contact with these strangers online through dating sites or social media.
You think it’s genuine and find it very hard to let go. Once you get hooked, you think you’re in a relationship and it’s hard to accept the fact that you have been conned.
But when the penny drops, the loss is huge. And it’s not just the financial loss; it’s the loss of the perceived relationship and the grieving that flows from that.
It’s also an incredible loss of self-esteem because they feel foolish and think, ‘how could I have fallen for this and lost my children’s inheritance?’ It is an extremely difficult thing to deal with.
What role do you think GPs have in this?
Dr Taylor: GPs are in an awkward situation. I do think our role is to help them deal with the emotional and psychological trauma, but also to be fairly impartial. We’re not qualified to tell someone whether they’re being scammed or not. It’s a bit like me as a GP trying to give legal advice — I can only tell someone to get legal advice.
You also have to remember it’s usually the victim’s family that comes to us and says, ‘Mum’s got this problem’. We often tend to rely on family members to point out problems like this because we may not actually pick it ourselves from our routine contact with the patient.
As doctors we’ve seen people whose relationship or marriage has broken down and it’s a very similar sort of situation to those who discover they’re a victim of scammers. It’s a grief reaction. It’s not just the terrible loss itself; it’s them trying to admit to the fact they’ve been conned and never saw it.
| Romance scams |
| The ACCC says that in the first two months of this year alone, there have been 688 reports of dating and romance scams with more than $2.9 million lost by victims. Elderly women were the most heavily targeted, with those in the 55-64 age bracket accounting for more than 60% of financial losses.
The scammers often prey on those who are divorced or widowed seeking a romantic partner through online dating sites, email and social media. According to the ABC’s recent Four Corners program, which reported on West African cyber criminals last month, some scammers are posing as US soldiers complete with fake photos and false dating profiles. Once they gain the victim’s trust, they then ask them to send money, gifts or credit card details under the guise of some sort of personal emergency or on the pretext of wanting to travel to meet them. |
Your Primary Health Network is offering GPs education on this subject. What are doctors being encouraged to do?
Dr Taylor: Yes, that is right. The Midwest GP Network — part of the Country WA PHN — recently had a regional officer from Consumer Protection speak to our members. For doctors who haven’t encountered such patients before, it can be quite daunting and overwhelming because we probably won’t know the signs to look out for. You might notice that someone’s personality or mood might be changing all of a sudden, but sometimes it’s very hard to pick.
I think it’s important that GPs are educated by people experienced in this area.
Are there any signs to look out for?
Dr Taylor: It is hard. Sudden changes in behaviour and non-compliance with medication are definitely things that we have to look out for. We might also notice changes in personality — but it’s very hard to pick.
Doctors need to remember that in helping these victims deal with the fallout and other health problems that might eventuate, we also need to make sure they get the correct advice and direct them to see professionals who can also assist.
It’s a team effort here. It’s not just down to one person.
Dr Ian Taylor is a rural GP who has practised in Geraldton, WA, for the past 35 years.
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