Your next love story could be a crime story

Romance scams are no longer fringe crimes. They represent one of the most psychologically sophisticated and financially devastating forms of cybercrime operating today.

In this presentation, former detective and undercover investigator Kylee Dennis takes the audience inside the world of digital predators, exposing how organised criminal networks weaponize trust, intimacy, and human vulnerability at scale. Drawing on real cases and her own undercover work posing as both a 62-year-old woman and a 67-year-old man, she reveals the deliberate and structured manipulation used to build emotional dependency and extract life changing sums of money.

This session goes beyond the mechanics of scams. It challenges the cyber security industry, financial institutions, and policymakers to confront an uncomfortable question. Why are victims still blamed, dismissed, or misunderstood, and what must change in the way systems, responses, and support frameworks are designed?

Each romance scam follows a pattern that is neither random nor simple. It is a carefully constructed psychological operation. Kylee breaks down the full lifecycle of these scams, from first contact through to financial exploitation, demonstrating how offenders exploit loneliness, trust, and emotional need rather than technical vulnerabilities. Her insights reveal that these crimes should be understood as advanced forms of social engineering, engineered with precision and intent.

Through this lens, the audience gains a deeper understanding of how trust is established, how emotional hooks are reinforced, and how decision making becomes compromised over time. This perspective challenges long held assumptions about victim behaviour and highlights the reality that anyone can be targeted under the right conditions.

Importantly, this presentation calls for a shift in how society responds. It moves the conversation away from judgement and towards understanding, away from reaction and towards prevention, and away from silence and towards accountability. Kylee addresses the gaps that exist across industry, government, and community, and outlines what must change to better prevent these crimes and support those affected.

This is a human centred session grounded in real investigative experience. It provides audiences with practical insight into one of the fastest growing forms of cybercrime while highlighting the emotional and long-term impact on victims and their families. It leaves attendees not only more informed, but better equipped to recognise, respond to, and help prevent these crimes in their own environments.