Bali drug arrest: online dating lure story sounds feasible, says Netsafe

Wanganui man Antony Glen de Malmanche (52) was arrested Monday at Bali International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 1.7kg of methamphetamine on to the island. He is being held by customs.

It was his first trip out of New Zealand, his son says.

1.7kg of meth has a street value in NZ of around $1.2 million. If convicted of trafficking by an Indonesian court, Mr de Malmanche faces the death penalty.

Few details about the case have been confirmed so far, but Mr de Malmanche son has told media his father is "a bit of an internet dater" and it has been speculated he was flying to the Indonesian holiday island to see a woman he met online.

Sounds feasible
"The son's description of the online dating lure certainly sounds feasible," Netsafe cybersecuity programme manager Chris Hails says.

Netsafe's primary sponsors are InternetNZ and the Ministry of Education, and its partners include various law enforcement and other government agencies. 

It's CEO Martin Cocker tells NBR, "NetSafe is seeing a growth across all the online scam categories, but we assume that has more to do with increased reporting. As a percentage of reported scams, online dating remains fairly consistent in the lower single digit percentage — as opposed to say trading scams that make up over 10% of reported scams. That might be because less people fall for them, or less people report them when they do."

Harm tends to be high
"What we do know about online dating scams is that once somebody is hooked into one, the harm tends to be high," Mr Cocker says.

Last year, the watchdog reported the case of a lonely-heart who lost $250,000 to an online dating scam.

"Love and relationships are very motivating. The average financial losses for dating scams is high, and people do tend to be manipulated into doing dangerous things, like breaking the law," Mr Cocker says.

Hi colleague Mr Hails adds,  "Antony may have sufficiently trusted the person he met face to face once overseas or have been under duress to deliver a package. Such 'mule' stories have been reported by before."

Romance scams: the financial toll
"In terms of NZ online dating scam numbers, we are not seeing a rise in cases this year but this form of online scam remains a constant challenge for some internet users," Mr Hails says.

This year to date New Zealanders have submitted 4845 reports to NetSafe's ORB reporting channel, he says, with associated online losses of $5.5 million.

142 of those reports have been categorised as romance scams with financial losses of $661,300 and we know many of those affected suffer emotionally too.

The long game
There are plenty of people finding love online, but there are also a number of people having a completely different experience, Mr Cocker says.

"It's important for people who use dating sites to recognize how easily somebody can misrepresent themselves on them — and to know that time getting to know somebody online is not the same as getting to know somebody offline. Scammers will happily invest many hours of relationship building, sometimes over months of engagement before they make their scam request."

"Romance scams are often perpetrated over a long period of time with steady and ongoing communication over several months and a genuine sense of trust being established between the scammer and the Kiwi looking for love," Mr Hails says.

Netsafe's advice for online daters
"As soon as someone asks for money it should raise suspicions. Money transfer services are designed to send funds to people you know and cash sent offshore is untraceable and should be considered lost once sent," Mr Hails says.

"Be on the lookout for any kind of discrepancy in people's stories, including bad spelling or poor grammar and be alert to those living overseas, especially supposed Kiwis saying they are 'moving back soon'."

The old advice "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" is still effective, he says.

If travelling overseas to meet a new flame, ensure you explain your plans to a friend or family member.

"Other countries — not NZ to my knowledge — have reported citizens kidnapped or murdered by scammers once they arrive to meet an internet dating contact," Mr Hails says.

He says if you have concerns, you should speak to a friend or family member involved, or contact NetSafe by email, via its reporting site ORB or freephone 0508 NETSAFE.

ckeall@nbr.co.nz

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