Meet the vigilante ex-cop who catfishes the catfish

Marina Gainulina
01:00pm May 12 2025

Kylee Dennis, founder of Two Face Investigations, shares her best tips on avoiding romance scammers.

For Kylee Dennis, the fight against scammers has always been personal.

A 14-year career in the police force came to an end when she traded in her badge for a different kind of stakeout: catching catfish on dating apps.

The founder of Two Face Investigations is passionate about stopping romance scams – a mission borne from a close call at home. It all began when her elderly, divorcée mother called from her retirement village to share some “exciting news” – she had found love again with a man called Donald. Alarm bells quickly started ringing for Dennis when she discovered the relationship was already six months along and had developed strictly online.

Next came some expert-level sleuthing, the kind reserved for an ex-police detective, no less. A reverse image search of photos from the suitor - supposedly a Sydney businessman finalising a gas pipeline contract in Turkey - revealed him to be a catfish. His photos were stolen from the social media profile of an attractive, happily-married and otherwise unaware real estate agent in California.

“I broke my mum’s heart when I told her that she was a victim of a romance scam,” Dennis recalls.

The experience proved too close to home, motivating her to establish an investigative service focusing on finding the scammers and educating the public.

Dennis employs a range of tactics to beat the cybercriminals at their own game, some more novel than others. More recently, the 54-year-old married mother of two moonlights as Samantha - a 62-year-old widow looking for love online. The fake dating profile serves as an intelligence-gathering exercise. Not only does it intimately acquaint her with understanding scammers tactics firsthand, it also highlights what she already knows: fraudsters are taking to dating apps to prey on older individuals via costly online romance scams.

In fact, the National Anti-Scam Centre's latest ScamWatch Report found over $23 million was lost to romance scams in 2024. This year’s figure already sits at over $7 million.

Dennis recounts heartbreaking stories of clients who have lost their life savings, including one who was defrauded of half a million dollars. The emotional toll is immense, and in a cruel twist, sometimes it’s the victims, not criminals, who fear legal repercussions for minor financial transactions.

One of Dennis's most challenging cases involved an ex-wife worried about her former husband's ongoing engagement with scammers. Despite losing over $300,000, he refused to believe he was being scammed.

Financial damage aside, it’s the deep psychological manipulation at play that leaves Dennis concerned, with the potential for such situations to lead to severe mental health issues.

Education is a cornerstone of Dennis's work. She stresses the importance of verifying information and being cautious with online interactions. Scammers often use sophisticated techniques, including fake documents and deepfake technology, to deceive their targets. Dennis's advice is clear: never send money or open bank accounts for someone you've only met online and always share your online dating experiences with trusted friends and family.

There are major red flags that Dennis has observed, a reoccurring pattern in the scammers’ methods to watch out for:

1. Their tendency to adopt the personas of professionals with jobs that conveniently keep them overseas is a key tactic to avoid in-person meetings.
2. The creative excuses they use to request money, such as needing funds for Wi-Fi or broken laptops, despite their supposedly high-earning professions.
3. The pressure to keep the relationship secret and the request to open bank accounts.

These fabricated stories often lead to significant financial losses. In her experience, victims lose an average of $12,000 - though she’s quick to point out that some cases involve much larger sums.

Her final pearl of wisdom to those seeking love online is, “Go back to your ‘why’. Your why is to find somebody to hold your hand. You want connection. You don't want virtual connection. You want intimate connection.”

If someone you've met online can't meet you in person and insists on secrecy, it's a red flag. By staying vigilant and seeking support from loved ones, you can help protect your heart, and your wallet.

Marina Gainulina

Marina Gainulina (she/her) is a Content Producer for Westpac Wire. Graduating with a Bachelor of Communications & Media (Journalism) degree, Marina has spent a decade as a lifestyle journalist and luxury marketer, crafting commercial and editorial content for global brands including Tiffany & Co., Hugo Boss, NIVEA and GRAZIA.

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