Emotional exploitation at scale: Cybercrime, romance, and human trafficking

For better or for worse, dating apps have become the norm for people to meet each other. Unfortunately, this also creates opportunities for scammers to exploit individuals’ emotions and gain their trust to defraud them of substantial sums. These are also known as “pig butchering” scams. Beyond the immediate victims, there is a hidden layer of exploitation where trafficked individuals are coerced into operating these scams under duress within organised crime syndicates.

In this talk we look at both facets of romance scams: the personal toll on victims and the systemic abuse of trafficked individuals forced into cybercrime.

We’ll discuss how people are tricked into working at these scam compounds and what Australia’s current measures are to combat this type of cybercrime.

Introduction

The Victim's Perspective

The Scammer's Perspective: Forced Criminality

Case Study: Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia

Australia's Response to Romance Scams

Recommendations for Individuals and Organisations

For Individuals:

For Organisations:

Conclusion