A private investigator says online dating scammers have fraudulently scammed over $1 million out of Kiwis on the search for love.
It comes after a woman told Stuff she met a man online and fell in love - and then a month later he claimed he had an accident on his construction site and needed $1000.
The man even sent a fake broadcast to prove his story. His requests started to get bigger which resulted in the woman being swindled for $540,000, the woman's life savings.
Private investigator John Borland is working with the woman and said it took a bit of digging but he soon realised she had been scammed.
"I was able to verify that A) the journalist didn't exist and B) the entity that was suspected of being a scam wasn't involved in the bridge development at all," he told The Project on Wednesday.
Borland told The Project some scammers are operating right here in New Zealand.
"I believe there are local residents of New Zealand that are involved in it."
He said Kiwi daters have been swindled for over $1m: "We are talking a lot of money."
Borland encouraged those who are dating online to do their research.
"If someone is talking to you and what they're saying sounds too good to be true, in often cases it is."
Watch the full interview above.
