Kylee Dennis remembers exactly where she was when she received a phone call that would change her career path.
It was a summer night in January 2023 when a close friend called.
“I was settling in for the night with a glass of Chardonnay when she phoned and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, mum has got a boyfriend! She’s secretly ventured onto online dating’.”
The more her friend revealed about the 78-year-old mother’s romance, the more concerned Kylee became.
It turns out that things were getting serious with a man named Donald.
Unable to sleep that night, Kylee called her friend.
“Being a little nosy, I called her to ask her mum about her new love and how it was going.
“She was talking to a businessman based overseas and she’d only seen photos of him, but she was absolutely besotted and fallen for him in only a few months.”
So concerned about her friend’s mother, the very next day she began investigating, taking Kylee back to her roots in the police force.
In 1989, she joined the New South Wales Police Force working across various high-risk areas, serving as a dedicated officer in roles such as a negotiator, undercover operative, intelligence officer, child protection specialist, and detective.
During her 14-year tenure, Kylee earned accolades for her exemplary work, including a police commissioner's commendation for excellence in investigation.
Following the birth of her second child, she transitioned from law enforcement to partner with her husband in the hospitality industry.
After speaking with the older woman, she decided to join the dating app and find out more about the mysterious Donald.
“He looked to be in his mid-fifties, he was handsome and very physically fit.
“Some photos looked like they were from a professional photo shoot.”
"But I really am a doctor!" Do you know who you're actually talking to? Photo: Shutterstock
Kylee traced one of the images to its origin on a real estate business website in the United States, which saw her speak with the man in the photos.
“He confirmed he wasn’t in a relationship with my friend’s mum.
“Someone had stolen his identity.”
Kylee began to search for more profiles. In a few hours, she identified more than 15 fake profiles.
“Within a short period, I realised there were so many fake profiles.
“How many other older people out there are being scammed?
“I knew nothing about romance scammers and how deceptive and manipulative they are.
Kylee discovered romance scans were big business. Photo: Shutterstock
“I bought a book on the topic and thought, ‘OMG, this is huge’.”
Two Face Investigations begins
Over the following weeks, Kylee joined a number of dating apps and created two profiles using fake names and old photos of herself.
This was when she truly understood the magnitude of the number of fake profiles.
“I began to realise that I can help those on dating apps by identifying scammers and victims before they lose money.”
After much research and collecting data, she launched Two Face Investigations in August 2023.
To date, she has dealt with victims ranging in age from 50 to 86 years, all of whom were targeted by romance scammers.
The financial losses have varied significantly, from as little as $30 to over half a million dollars.
In 2023, Australians lost more than $2.7 billion to scams, with romance and dating scams accounting for $34.3 million.
What an investigation involves
Most investigations begin with a phone call, generally from concerned relatives.
Kylee gives an example of a recent case.
This came from a worried relative whose uncle had lost over $300,000 in an online dating scam.
“The uncle is in his eighties and the relative knew the uncle was being scammed, but didn’t have anyone to investigate – this is where I come in.”
Her work begins by identifying the photo or who actually owns it, and where they are from.
In this case she discovered the photo was stolen from an unsuspecting individual’s social media page.
Kylee Dennis gathers information to present to the client. Photo: Supplied
“Scammers do this to create the story, so then there’s another victim: the owner of the photo.”
Once all the information is gathered, Kylee contacts the photo’s owner to let them know their photo has been stolen.
She also spoke to the uncle informing him that the woman’s photo was stolen, and he was talking to a scammer.
“It took him time to acknowledge he was scammed, this often happens.
“My friend’s mother took time too, but there is a light bulb moment when they realise it’s true.
“I’m doing this to protect them from losing more money.”
Talking with a non-family member, like Kylee, helps.
“They won’t talk to a family member, because of the shame or they think, ‘how stupid could I be?’.
But they’ll talk to a stranger, and I am empathetic.”
One thing victims have in common is a deep sense of shame.
Kylee wants people to understand that this is not their fault, and anyone can become the victim of a scam.
“We need to talk about this.
“The sad part about a romance scam is that not only do they lose money, but their heart is broken as well.
Yes, your heart may break but at least you won't have lost money. Photo: Shutterstock
“They’re shattered as if a loved one has died. It’s emotional, heartbreaking, shameful and embarrassing.
"Sadly, they hate themselves for falling victim and this impacts mental health.”
A typical day undercover
Venturing undercover as a 67-year-old male and a 62-year-old female, Kylee identified the deceptive tactics employed by romance scammers.
Her aim is to stop victims handing over money as well as exposing the fake profiles.
Kylee’s payment is on a job-by-job basis.
She assesses the situation and usually, clients pay on the time invested and any expenses.
“When I hear how much they’ve lost, sometimes I’ll do pro-bono work.
“Sometimes it’s a step-by-step process, depending on the length of investigation.
“Other times, they ring me just to tell their story, for which I don’t charge.”
She gives an example of a woman who took $120,000 out of her superannuation, leaving her with only $20,000.
“She’s a 60-year-old woman and she cried as she told me her story.
Don't be fooled by a fake -profile scammer. Photo: Shutterstock
“She just needed someone to talk to.
“The superannuation companies need to ask more questions – this was a red flag.”
More than 200 fake profiles found
Since starting the business, Kylee has uncovered more than 200 fake profiles across three dating app platforms.
Every fake profile she uncovers, she reports these back to the dating app management.
Sadly, the profiles remain.
“They are either still there or they come back with a different name.”
Recently she met with ministers Stephen Jones and Alison Byrnes to discuss protecting Australians, enforce stricter guidelines, and penalties for dating apps that allow fake profiles.
“We have to make it harder for a scammer to create a profile.
"This boils down to ensuring a 100-point ID check.
“It’s easy to set up a fake profile. I’ve done it for the purpose to seek out the scammers. Anyone can do it.”
People must be responsible for their actions, she says.
“Social media has a lot to answer for. It’s an insidious world of fake profiles!
“Right now, I’m supposedly talking to Donald Trump and Denzel Washington,” she laughs.
“If you can’t meet someone in person, then they don’t exist.
“Be aware and responsible.”
Kylee is part of a worldwide pig butchering group, known as Operation Shamrock, where stakeholders from different industries join forces to fight pig butchering scams.
The term pig butchering is used to describe the act of luring victims of online romance scams into investment scams, taking their money in the process, thereby “fattening” the pig.
Many romance scams turn into investment scams as scammers 'fatten the pig', otherwise known as 'pig butchering'. Photo: Shutterstock
“Operation Shamrock deals with romance scams that have moved into investments scams.
“In Australia these are viewed as two separate entities, but this is not the case.
“There is a strong correlation between the two.”
Advice for those online dating
Pay attention if you have a parent or relative dating online.
“Talk to them about online dating, ask them without judgement, ‘are you online dating?’
“It’s OK to be dating. A lot of times, they’re dating in secret.
"If possible, have a look at who they are dating.”
Importantly, if they haven’t met the person they’re talking to in 10 days, walk away.
And don’t take video chats as gospel because deepfake technology makes it possible for profiles to look and sound like anyone.
Kylee’s experience has taught her that anybody can be a victim.
“Everyone has this vision that vulnerable old people fall victim to these scams.
“That’s not true, anyone can. There are nasty humans out there who prey on the vulnerable.
“Don’t be quick to judge.
"We need to be more empathetic because this is a crime, and people must understand a crime has been committed.”
Have you had any experience with romance scammers? Contact Information Age by email here.
