Online scammers target Christians

Online scammers are trawling Christian websites in search of lonely hearts and generous souls to "suck the life out of".

Australian law enforcers say an increasing number of Australians are falling victim to romance fraud, with an insidious new religious flavour that appeals to values of faith.

"They go into Christian chat rooms and a lot of the time when they ask for money, there's a Christian element to the [scammer's] story," Queensland police Fraud Squad chief Detective Inspector Brian Hay said.

"It's a comfort thing for the victim.

"We are seeing more targeted attacks because people put information about themselves on to the web."

A fraud conference held by police on the Gold Coast was today told offenders could spend months developing online "relationships" with unsuspecting people in search of love and companionship before they eventually put the hard word on them for money.

In just the first six months of this year more than A$4 million has been sent by Queenslanders to Nigeria, where romance scamming is a thriving cottage industry.

On average, Australians are sending about A$4.5 million each month to the African nation, where many believe they have found love.

Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said romance fraud "didn't come much lower."

"There is something particularly brutal and cruel about targeting someone who is lonely and vulnerable, looking for company or a partner in their life," Mr Atkinson said.

"It could be an email from someone claiming to have fallen on hard times, they communicate and correspond, then there's a request for money.

"This of course touches at the heart of people's loneliness and personal circumstances, so that's a particularly cruel scam."

Police revealed two out of three victims of romance fraud are women, who scammers target on social networking pages, dating sites and Christian chat rooms.

Detective Superintendent Hay said a recent study of 200 victims of online fraud found 120 had fallen for romance-related scams and had collectively parted with more than A$21.5 million.

"As [criminals] suck the life out of them, they get their money, they get their emotions," Detective Superintendent Hay said.

He blamed increases in romance scams on people being too liberal with their personal details online.

"We have a greater take up of the internet, from those more elderly people in the community who are looking for companionship," he said.

The two-day symposium aims to form links between business, the private sector and police, to reduce online fraud.

The Queensland Police Service has set up a website for victims of fraud, who police say are often too embarrassed to come forward in person.