What actually happens

Operation Firestorm targets offshore organised crime networks that deceive Australians through romance, cryptocurrency and investment scams.

After Philippine authorities raided a scam compound in central Manila that ran a coordinated romance-baiting scam, the AFP identified Australian targets and passed their details to the National Anti-Scam Centre.

The Centre sent text warnings to more than 5,000 potential victims, urging them not to send money to people they had met online and explaining what to do if they already had. A separate raid in Bangkok in June 2025, on a call centre running an investment scam, led to nearly 2,000 more notifications.

A time-limited taskforce brought together dating and social media platforms, law enforcement, banks, victim support services, cryptocurrency exchanges, academic experts and romance scam survivors.

It referred 1,004 suspected scam transactions for investigation, 168 suspect crypto wallet addresses for blocking, and 377 websites, messaging accounts, emails and profiles for removal.

It also built frameworks for sharing suspected pre-scam transactions between banks and crypto exchanges, three frontline guides for bank staff, police and carers, and a 20-question Online Relationship Health Check for the public.

A person matched with someone on a dating platform. The other person said they usually lived in Australia but were about to start work overseas for three months, and asked to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging app.

After a few weeks the other person said their passport had been taken and they needed US$500 to get it back, then a further US$2,000 for a new plane ticket.

The person confided in a friend, who was suspicious and suggested the National Anti-Scam Centre's Online Relationship Health Check. They saw that the behaviour matched known scam behaviour, sent no money, and stopped replying.

The AFP described a four-step process. Packaging: offenders build an attractive persona and open with a cold message, often framed as an accident. Raising: daily contact, pet names, and declarations of love within weeks.

Then the investment step: the victim is directed to a fake trading platform showing false growth. When they try to withdraw, they are told to pay verification fees or taxes. Finally the cash-out: further demands, and in some cases threats to expose intimate images.

Listed warning signs include accidental first messages, displays of wealth and crypto, pressure to invest, requests for intimate pictures, and guilt or threats.

Hyderabad's Police Commissioner warned of rising honey-trap cyber frauds that use fake dating and video-calling apps. They are promoted through ads on social media, using AI-generated videos of attractive profiles.

Once an app is installed, it can reach the person's contacts and photo gallery. During a video call, the other side shows explicit content and records the person's face, then edits the recording to make compromising material.

The person is then threatened that it will be sent to family and friends unless they pay. Police said many people, afraid of embarrassment, end up paying large sums. They urged people not to install unfamiliar apps, to be cautious with late-night ads, and to report to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in without fear of exposure.

Police said a married couple ran a blackmail scheme for about three years. They allegedly used social media to build casual contact, invited people to their home, secretly recorded the meetings, and then threatened to release the videos to families and workplaces unless money was paid.

Police said more than 100 people were reportedly targeted. One complainant said they paid 13 lakh rupees and faced a demand for 5 lakh more. Police seized phones, videos, cash and cheques, and urged other victims to come forward with assurances of confidentiality.

These are police allegations at the time of reporting, not findings of a court.

Police said a pan-India syndicate ran several fraud 'verticals', including fake loan call centres in which victims were deceived by impersonators of banks, and a module that blackmailed people with private photos and videos obtained online.

Fifteen people were arrested, and investigators identified a money trail of five crore rupees. Police said the group procured bank account 'kits' and used them to carry out various cyber frauds.

These are police allegations at the time of arrest, not findings of a court.

Police said a person who searched online for a companionship service was directed to a flat. There, three people posing as police allegedly assaulted them, claimed to have video evidence, and threatened to implicate them in a serious criminal case unless they paid.

The group allegedly demanded five lakh rupees to settle the matter. Five people were held, and police said the alleged mastermind was still at large.

Police said the group lured victims through online advertisements. It is extortion rather than a long romance, but it uses the same levers: shame, fear, and a demand for money.

The FCA reviewed how six firms detect and prevent romance fraud. It found fraudsters often begin with low-value payments that reinforce trust and look consistent with normal spending.

In one case a customer tried to make five payments to the same new beneficiary on the same day. The values were low, but monitoring identified the behaviour and deferred the last two payments for manual review, preventing further loss.

Other signals firms used included spending on dating sites followed by related transactions, loan funds received and quickly sent to money transfer services, and payments to beneficiaries with earlier fraud concerns. In another case a customer told staff they planned to send crypto overseas to a 'partner' in the military.

An offender met three people on two dating apps while presenting a false picture of themselves as someone seeking a genuine relationship. After the relationships formed quickly, they asked each person for money for living costs, travel and other expenses, promising to repay it.

The offender obtained about £28,500 in total. One victim was left stranded after travelling to meet them. Victims faced emotional pressure, and the offender falsely suggested that the authorities would dismiss their reports.

The offender pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court to three years in prison. This is a conviction, unlike the arrests described elsewhere on this page.