A Melbourne woman in her 30s, identified as Jane, lost $646,035 to a romance scam after meeting a man named Joe on the dating app Hinge in May 2025. Joe claimed to be a FIFO worker who needed money for an emergency, but his photos, passport, and bank account screenshots were fake. Jane, who has autism and a learning disability, sent the money in 41 transactions to cryptocurrency trading platforms. Her bank, ING, refused a refund, and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) sided with the bank in March 2025.
How the scam unfolded
After matching on Hinge, Joe quickly moved the conversation to WhatsApp. He told Jane he loved her, envisioned a future with children, and promised to repay her with 50% interest. Messages seen by Guardian Australia show his manipulation: “So I will be the first person you ever fall in love with,” he said after she confided she had never been in a relationship. Jane said, “I thought that I could really trust him. He said, ‘I’m not the kind of bad person that would do this.’”
Australia's new anti-scam laws
The Albanese government passed what it calls the “world’s toughest anti-scam laws,” but they will not be functional until 31 March 2027. The laws will initially cover banks, telcos, and key digital platforms—social media, paid search advertising, and direct messaging services—but not dating apps. A spokesperson for Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the government “would not hesitate to bring additional sectors into scope where needed.”
Consumer advocates raise concerns
Meg Dalling, a policy expert at the Consumer Action Law Centre (Calc), says there are “obviously still some really significant gaps in the coverage of the laws.” Unlike the UK, where banks must reimburse larger sums, Australia’s laws only propose automatic reimbursements up to $3,000. For larger amounts, Labor has promised a dispute resolution mechanism but has not detailed how it will work. Dalling says it’s “very difficult to say” whether Jane would have been helped under the new framework because the laws are “still totally reliant on industry to determine what they think is appropriate.”
Impact on victims
In the past 18 months, Australians have lost more than $37 million in 4,767 reported romance scams. Dr. Kate Gould, a neuropsychologist at Monash University, says humans have a “basic need” for love and connection, making them vulnerable. She argues dating platforms should ensure users are “a real person and not a criminal.” A Hinge spokesperson said its parent company, Match Group, invests in new technologies like “Face Check” verification, rolled out in Australia in March 2025.
Jane's case and aftermath
Jane set up an ING account at Joe’s instruction and wired money to two crypto trading platforms known for scams. Her lawyer, Nufar Gofman from Calc, says ING had multiple opportunities to intervene. ING said it was “optimistic” the new framework would improve coordination. AFCA acknowledged Jane’s “devastating financial and personal loss” but ruled the bank was “not on notice the disputed transactions were related to a scam.” Jane’s lawyers argue AFCA ignored ING’s legal obligations. Joe stopped responding after claiming he would go to prison over a multi-million dollar contract. Jane says, “It makes me really sad, and my mum.”
