With Valentine’s Day just over a week away, Scam Portfolio Lead at ANZ, Ruth Talalla joined Chris O’Keefe to bring awareness to romance scams that tend to appear around this season. 

Although this time of year brings lots of joy and excitement, it also carries heavy financial loss through the prevalence of romance scams.

Last year, Australians lost over $40 million, with men being more susceptible to falling victim to scams.

However, women are losing more money over time due to staying in touch with scammers.

Scam expert Ruth Talalla advises ways people can avoid falling for these scams and help identify them.

Scammers have been found to “do their homework” when it comes to choosing their victims.

“They will scan your social media to obtain personal information,” she said.

“Immediately report it to your bank … the sooner the better.”