Whakatane Police deal with up to 50 romance scams a year and Senior Sergeant Cam MacKinnon warns people to take care when dating online – particularly when sending sensitive images or information.

Although his warning coincides with Valentine’s Day, the internationally recognised day of love and affection, Mr MacKinnon says romance scams are catching people out all year round.

He said between 6 and 12 cases came to police attention every quarter.

“People can get duped, and there is a high percentage of crimes occurring, involving two-way communication between one person and another who has hidden and malevolent motivations,” he said.

Victims are approached on dating apps, Facebook, Instagram, or email.

He said these situations often involved fake accounts made using other people’s photos, where a scammer would lull a victim into a false sense of security.

They will then ask the person to send compromising photos or sensitive information.

“We see that the minute the compromising photo has been sent, they ask or often demand money, or else.”

Amounts of approximately $10,000 are regularly asked for in these scams, with threats to post the pictures on Facebook or other public platforms.

He said victims of these scams could range from 17-year-olds to over 60, and victims were predominantly males.

Mr MacKinnon encourages anyone who may have been a victim of these types of scams to seek help from the police.

“Historically, once the blackmail starts, it won’t stop. It’s best to report early,” he said.

“You can come to the station and ask to talk in confidence with a station supervisor.

“We advise anyone finding themself in this situation to not send any further sensitive material, and to never send money.

“Whether they have a photo, information or a story they’ve heard about you that they’re using for blackmail, we’d like to hear about it.”

He said many victims only came into the station after having paid.

“When people come in here, it’s only after they’ve exhausted their funds, and they feel more cornered than when it started.

“People hardly ever get their money back, but we have methods to stop this blackmail behaviour, and to support victims.

“A lot of people hesitate to come to police about these cases. The whole idea around fraud is that when you realise you’ve been defrauded, you feel stupid – it’s a natural reaction.

“When it comes to the dating side of things, this is accompanied by shame and humiliation. It takes a lot of courage to walk into the station.

“So, we encourage people to speak to police for advice and early is better.”

Norton’s 2025 Online Dating Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report found that 31 percent of people using dating apps in New Zealand had been targeted by a dating scam.

Eighteen percent of those surveyed said feelings of loneliness led them to take greater risks in online dating, in the hope of genuine connection.

In total, 21,808 dating scam attacks were blocked on average each month in 2024.

Nearly one in five people had their photos stolen and misused on fake profiles.

The most common scams involve romance scams, catfishing, fake dating sites, visa or immigration scams, and sugar daddy or sugar baby scams.

Of the victims, 63 percent suffer financial losses and 38 percent lose their personal information.

NetSafe is contactable for guidance around romance scams, with a free and confidential helpline seven days a week.

Common tactics of romance scams include creating a sense of urgency or need for secrecy, disguising their requests for money, changes in communication style, expressing hesitancy about meeting.

Netsafe recommends people stop and think before ever sharing money and personal information, challenge whether the situation can be fake, and to protect and safeguard your information.

“It’s okay to ignore, refuse or reject any requests, especially online. You have control; you can report and block them.

“Safeguard your information, contact your bank if you’ve fallen for a scam, and report it to Netsafe for support.”

If you have fallen prey to an online romance scam, or other financially motivated scam, the Beacon would like to hear from you - email [email protected].