imagine that your mother or father go
online looking for a relationship they
meet someone special
they spend weeks months even years
communicating with that person over
email Skype messenger many other social
media platforms it’s all going really
well but then at some point they’re
asked for a small amount of money
whether it’s from medical emergency a
family drama or any other number of
endless scenarios without hesitation
they comply and before long they’ve lost
the savings the superannuation and they
now have second mortgage on their house
or imagine if your partner was presented
with an investment opportunity they do
their research their due diligence and
it seems to check out there are glossy
brochures a website full of testimonials
and an array of staff with whom they
speak with on a regular basis they
invest thousands of dollars and they’re
able to log in to an online account and
track their investment but then one day
the website disappears along with all of
your combined savings these stories are
not unique and they are by no means
uncommon for the past nine years I have
been researching online fraud our
kitchen tables across Australia victims
have opened up and shared with me the
often painful and traumatic experiences
of their victimization for many people
it’s the first time that they’ve been
able to tell their stories because the
shame and the stigma associated with
online fraud means that many suffer in
silence so who are the victims of online
fraud despite what you may think these
are not foolish people they are
successful in every other aspect of
their lives
they are mothers and fathers brothers
and sisters friends work colleagues they
are people in your local communities
they simply made one decision that saw
everything unravel and it’s that one
decision that becomes the defining
moment of their lives there’s a negative
stereotype about who is a victim of
online fraud that they’re greedy
gullible naive uneducated that they
should have been able to avoid the
situation but in reality fraud cuts
across all demographics targets men and
women all ages and it does not
discriminate against education or
occupation it could never happen to me I
hear you all say but anyone can be a
victim of online fraud
if targeted in the right way at the
right time it is too easy to blame the
victims of fraud from what has happened
instead of focusing our attention on the
victims we should be channeling our
anger our fury and our rage on the
offenders
for it is they who have deceived it is
they who have manipulated and it is they
who have exploited the individuals but
in most cases the offenders are unknown
they are likely overseas they are
invisible
therefore they escaped the attention and
the blame that they deserve so what’s
the impact of online fraud it’s a
mistake to think the victims only suffer
financial losses the reality is far
greater than that victims will
experience a physical deterioration of
their health many of them will
experience emotional and psychological
problems majority will experience some
form of depression it’s a relationship
breakdown homelessness
unemployment in some cases victims will
take their own lives just take a moment
to think about that last statement why
is it there’s so many fraud victims feel
that suicide is the only answer why is
it that we have a system where the
barriers to report fraud outweigh the
ability of victims to be heard why is it
that online fraud is so often minimized
trivialized or not even acknowledged by
family friends and law enforcement
agencies so what’s the effect on the
victims of fraud victims are reluctant
to disclose to those around them for
fear of how they will react and this
fear is justified for those victims who
have opened up to those around them and
if experienced anger exclusion and
disown m’t form their family and friends
fraud has fractured many relationships
beyond repair victims are often shamed
bullied and isolated by those that they
needed the most and for older victims
there’s an additional burden a fear that
they will be seen to have lost capacity
and they will therefore lose their
financial independence we need to change
this
the Australian cybercrime online
reporting network is now the central
means of reporting online fraud in
Australia and while this is a positive
step it brings with it new challenges
imagine that you’re the victim of
romance fraud and you’ve lost several
hundred thousand dollars imagine how you
feel when you’ve plucked up enough
courage to go down to report to your
local police station and they refuse to
take a complaint
instead they refer you to a website this
name technology which has enabled your
victimization which facilitated your
violation and betrayal is now being
promoted to you as the only possible
means of help that you have available
for many victims this is a confronting
and challenging scenario it is
impossible not to be moved by the
experiences of fraud victims as they
detail the many hardships they’ve faced
as a result of fraud itself and as a
result of the responses by society and
the system most people do not have an
accurate understanding of online fraud
how common it is how it occurs who is
victimized and realistically what one
can expect from police and other
agencies there’s a critical need to have
these discussions to get a better
understanding of what fraud actually is
and also to better understand how we can
support victims in their recovery so why
is any of this important victims share
their stories because they want change
they open up and share with me the
difficult and traumatic experiences with
the hope of a better future with the
hope of assisting others and with the
hope of changing the system down the
track but the question remains how can
despite the heartache and trauma there
is optimism for the future there is much
that can be done to improve the
situation for online fraud victims you
can initiate a dialogue with your family
and friends one that is based on facts
and wonders that does not seek to
perpetuate myths or stereotypes you can
start discussions and lead debates in
your own communities every one of you in
this room today has the power and the
influence to affect the change that is
needed it’s as simple as starting a
it’s vital to use these victims stories
to advocate for the victims to give them
a voice out of the silence for the
majority of victims that I’ve spoken to
their overwhelming need and desire
simply to be heard to be able to tell
their story to somebody who won’t be
angry at them and who won’t judge them
for what has happened there is immense
power in gaining an acknowledgement over
victimization over what has happened and
a reassurance that they are not alone so
let me ask you if your mother father or
partner were victims of online fraud how would you like them to be treated