A woman who lost a six-figure sum in an online dating scam has become the first known West Australian victim of romance fraud to get some of her money back.
The woman, known only as Jenny, has so far received 40 per cent of the amount she sent to an overseas bank account last year during a fake relationship with "Gary", who she met on a well-known dating website.
The scammers convinced the 51-year-old woman that "Gary" was in love with her and needed money to cover a business crisis.
"I was simply looking for companionship after my divorce and never thought there would be such cruel con artists looking to capitalise on loneliness," Jenny said.
"I've learned the hard way and paid a high price emotionally through feelings of devastation, but getting such a large proportion of the money back at least means the financial impact is lessened and it's a small win in the war on these scammers."
The two refunds from an overseas bank came more than three months after Jenny tried to reverse transactions when she realised she was being defrauded.
Jenny also began talks with officers from Project Sunbird - a joint anti-fraud initiative between the major fraud squad and Consumer Protection.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dom Blackshaw said work began to ensure the overseas bank account was frozen.
Authorities also worked with the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which arrested a 26-year-old man.
Jenny then received two separate refunds into her bank account.
Consumer Protection acting commissioner Gary Newcombe said it was a unique case, because there had been more than 150 Project Sunbird victims who contacted WA ScamNet between March 2013 and February this year, none of whom have recovered any of the funds they lost, totalling $9,357,979.
