QUEANBEYAN women have been warned not to send money to anyone they meet online after several residents have complained about scammers targeting dating websites.
One Queanbeyan lawyer said she had been approached by three local women who were in contact with a man posing as a US soldier posted in Afghanistan.
The man contacted the women through an online dating site and sent pictures of himself serving overseas.
“These women have gone onto a dating site and after putting up their profile they then get a response from a man supposedly a US military soldier,” the lawyer said.
“The photographs are very compelling.”
After staying in contact with the women for up to six months the man then requested several thousand dollars so he could come to Australia on special leave.
He also sent a special leave certificate with military paraphernalia and insignia.
The money was requested to be sent by Western Union money transfer as a surety.
"These women have come to me for legal advice on whether the request is legitimate," he said.
"I have advised them not to send any money. But the women I have dealt with have also been very hurt. These are relationships that may have been going on for as long as six months.
"People should check with police for a lawyer if someone starts asking for a money transfer."
A spokesperson for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said online dating and romance scams targeting people from all works of life.
He said scammers would often copy photographs from other websites or magazines to appear legitimate.
"Between January and October 2011, more than 1600 complaints and over $17million in losses have been reported to the ACC," the spokesperson said.
"Scammers sometimes take a long time to build a relationship with you - never send money to anyone you meet online, no matter how long you have been chatting with them."
How to spot an online scam
Tips from the Australian Consumer Commission
They ask you to send them money or provide your personal or financial details
They ask you to transfer money via a wire transfer service
They quickly profess strong feelings or love for you
They are vague about their interests or what they want in a partner
They do no answer your questions or their responses are formulaic, nonsensical or repetitive
They claim to be stationed in or travel frequently to Africa or elsewhere overseas
They claim to be of mixed African and US, Australia, European or Canadian descent and travel to meet relatives in Africa
Their profile of their communications with you display poor spelling or grammar
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