ABA CEO Anna Bligh on romance scams: transcript of interview on Channel 7 Afternoon News with Mike Amor

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Mike Amor (Host): There’s a warning from our big banks ahead of Valentine’s Day to be aware of romance and dating scams, with Australians losing almost $24 million last year. Joining me now is the CEO of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh. Anna, good to see you. International gangs are using artificial intelligence and deep fakes to target Aussies. It’s a long way from buying flowers and chocolates as we did.

Anna Bligh (Guest) Yes, dating apps are now the reality of modern romance, and many people find their life partners on these dating apps. Unfortunately, far too many people also find criminals trying to trick them on the other end. So, as we get close to Valentine’s Day, it’s important to remember that while you’re looking for romance, be careful. Make sure that you think about who might be on the other end. And in fact, is it even a real human being, or is it some kind of chatbot?

Mike Amor: We’ll get to how to look out for that in a minute. But I was staggered by just how many people are being targeted.

Anna Bligh: These are very sophisticated criminal gangs, and they know that they can play on people’s emotions. So, when people – falling in love is a very powerful emotion, and if people are tricked into thinking that there is a real person on the end of the line who is very affectionate, who cares deeply for them, then all too often they’re willing to part with money. And so people not only lose their heart, but they lose their financial wellbeing, and often it breaks their bank account.

Mike Amor: It’s pretty low, isn’t it, because these people looking for love, often lonely on Valentine’s Day especially.

Anna Bligh: Look, I think all scams are low acts, but I think romance scams are among the lowest because it is taking advantage of people’s emotional vulnerability, people’s loneliness, people’s, you know, very human looking for love. And when you get tricked into that, and your heart gets broken, I think for many people, that’s just as bad, if not worse, than the money they lose out of their account.

Mike Amor: Ai deep fakes, it’s very sophisticated stuff. So, what should people look out for and avoid losing their money?

Anna Bligh: So, AI and deep fakes allow these criminals to present images on the screen that are often not real, not real people. So, look out for images that look just far too glossy and too perfect and flawless. If you continue to have conversations that seem repetitive, that can often mean that there’s a chatbot, not a human being. But most importantly, if people start to tell you a very emotional story about why they need your money, particularly in the early days of a romance online, be suspicious. Don’t think about giving money to someone you haven’t met in person, because they may not actually be a real person.

Mike Amor: Anna Bligh from the Australian Banking Association, good to see you. Thank you very much.

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