Tonight on Close Up ` lost in love ` the online dating scam that swindled one woman out of her inheritance. I just wanted him so badly. Top of the charts ` the Kiwi brothers who've conquered Australia ` next stop the States. I really do want to be on that level where our music's being played all around the world. And why there's no end in sight for Dame Judi's acting career. If you retire, it seems to me that something shuts down in you. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Hannah Reynolds and John Ling. Close Up captions by Pippa Jefferies and Angela Alice. Could you imagine handing over $240,000 to someone you'd never met? You know where this is going, don't you? Yes, it's National Fraud Awareness Week, and you're about to meet Viv. Viv has been scammed in one of the most lucrative ways ` the online dating scam. And the strike rate for scams is frightening ` one in 10 Kiwis who are targeted hand over the dough. Here's Jehan Casinader. ELECTRONIC MUSIC She was looking for love online. There was just so many men to pick from. I thought there must be someone out there for me. And there was ` a handsome Auckland man named Kelly. I just wanted him so badly because he was just the world to me. TENSE MUSIC Their romance lasted a year. READS: 'I miss you, my love, 'and want nothing more than to be in your arms until you kiss my problems away. Love always, Kelly.' But not only was Viv falling in love, she was falling into a trap. I just could not believe that it was true. ELECTRONIC MUSIC After the break-up of her marriage, Viv decided to branch out and try online dating. I was just really extremely lonely, and I just wanted that one thing ` it was just love ` and I thought I'd found it cos he just sounded so genuine and he was such a loving guy and he made me feel wonderful. ELECTRONIC MUSIC So who was this charming bachelor from Auckland? He said he was educated and that he had a really good job. ELECTRONIC MUSIC He said that his wife had died, and he had one child. ELECTRONIC MUSIC He was a petroleum engineer, and he had done some work in Lagos, Nigeria. HORNS TOOT The guys weren't paying him, so he said that he had to go over to Nigeria to get the money back. From his Nigerian hotel room, Kelly chatted with Viv online for three hours a night, six nights a week. They never met in person. He was always very loving. He'd always say really nice things. He would send me romantic gestures. Kelly's words would melt any girl's heart. READS: I wanna run away with you far away so no hurt would taunt us. This guy was going to make it all happen for me, so it was wonderful. ELECTRONIC MUSIC After a few months, Viv's lover asked her for a favour. He needed to borrow some money. I just said no. I didn't have any money to give. That's when I had no money, and I said, I'm sorry, but I can't give you any money.' But Kelly was persistent. He said he needed US$175,000 to pay a court fee in Nigeria. He put it in a way that I would say, 'Dear, I'll lend you the money,' and so I suggested it. Viv started sending Kelly some small morsels,... $200 here or $100 here. ...then some bigger chunks. 5000, a thousand, 2000. After a year, Viv had handed over $240,000. Oh, he would just keep saying there's no need to worry about anything, because everything will be fine. Once I had transferred the money, he said that he would be coming over to Fiji and meeting me and we'd have a good holiday together. Viv travelled to Fiji, but Kelly never turned up, and soon he stopped contact altogether. Viv realised she'd been scammed. This is the biggest loss that I have seen, but I have seen a lot of losses over $100,000. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs says Viv is not alone. Last year the scams with the highest reported loss were dating and romance scams. We've seen situations where people have just carried on paying money until they have no money left, have even gone and got bank loans and remortgaged their homes. And at that point, they've just simply had no more money to spend. Of course, these scams are not new, and yet one in 10 Kiwis who are targeted end up handing over money. These scammers are becoming more sophisticated with the way they're running their scams. They're investing a lot of time into these scams. Viv sent money to Nigeria by wire transfer, meaning it's almost impossible for police to trace. She's now lost the money she inherited from her parents, which she was going to buy a house with. When somebody was telling me that they loved me and couldn't live without me and then it was just a complete lie, that was more devastating, actually, than actually losing all of the money. Do you think you were naive? A little. A little? > A little. No, a lot. A lot? > Viv knows she's not completely blameless for what happened to her, but she wants you to know that lonely ladies are easy prey. When you're blinded by love, you'll just do anything to make it happen. So why are Kiwis still falling prey to these scams? Joining me now, Martin Cocker, head of Netsafe, and in Wellington, Jon Duffy, head of safety at Trade Me, which runs an online dating service. Martin, are there gullible people out there? I'd hesitate to call gullible, but they are people that fall for them. Viv is an ordinary person. She's not an idiot. he worked on the scam for a year. the scans used to be via e-mail. now the scammers have become much more clever. Jon, is anyway that you can filter out scams? one advantage that we have is that we're a website in New Zealand for New Zealanders. Are Kiwis easy victims? these people are professional scammers. They prey on a particular vulnerability of victims, and the really good at bombarding the victim with e-mails about what they want to hear. People need to step back and had some sympathy for the victims. if you're alerted to a possible scam, you will tell people? we will always contact people if there are in contact with people we think aren't �genuine. sometimes we find out that the transferred money to the scammer. That's pretty frustrating for us. Mark, Viv's friends were warning her to not do it. she thought she was in a meaningful relationship and they just didn't understand. does the Nigerian government take it seriously? there's token police actions being taken. is using Nigeria warning flag? it could be any country. you look for the language, the spelling and grammar? the grammar might not be appropriate from the country that they say that from. Sometimes a red flags aren't very obvious. Jon, do you put warnings on your site? is a community watch button at the bottom of each page. If someone has requested money from you and you haven't met them, you should be suspicious. Get in touch with the website, and they should be able to tell. a lot of people would be very embarrassed. Do they front up? I think Viv is brave. people don't want to report it because the vulnerabilities have been preyed on. Viv is very brave. get in touch with the website administrators, and they can reach at other people that this particular scammers got in touch with. and prevent harm to them as well. thanks for your time. We'll we'd like to hear your views. Go to our website or email us at... And we're on Facebook too. Coming up ` spinning and winning ` the Kiwi boys on course for global DJ domination. And why the show must go on for Dame Judi Dench. If you retire, it seems to me that something shuts down in you. For a music act to break into the States, they've got to put in the hard yards, and the Stafford brothers have done that. From DJing at their local rugby club, Matt and Chris are now playing to thousands at sell-out festivals, and that's when they're not building their business empire of nightclubs and reality shows. They believe if you want to hit big, you've got to think big. Here's Australia correspondent Steve Marshall. TECHNO MUSIC We are Australia's number one DJs. We were voted that at this year's awards. We've been in the top five for the last five years. We own a couple of night clubs as well, so we're got three nightclubs and a bar. And we have got countless releases, and I guess that's the basis of who were are and what we do. And we have got countless releases, and I guess that's the basis of who were are and what we do. Sold. BOTH LAUGH You'll take it? Yeah, yeah. They'll take that and a lot more. < What's left? World domination. Yeah, we take over the world. # I don't know what the hell they're going through. Welcome to the record- and head-spinning world of Matt and Chris Stafford, professional DJs who get paid to party. We always say, 'Let's play it like it's our last gig. 'Everyone play it like it's their last, cos it could be.' (LAUGHS) # A warm embrace... # It began as a bit of a laugh, DJing at rugby after-parties on the Gold Coast after moving there with their parents in the late '90s. At the start, it was just a joke, an excuse to hang out with our mates and get free drinks. Yeah, there was a period when we got a record contract, Yeah, there was a period when we got a record contract, and it was the point where we go, 'OK, let's make a career.' TECHNO MUSIC These days, the former Wellingtonians tour the world, earning up to $30,000 a gig. Staying at the top requires dedication. Monday to Friday we are fit, eating correctly, and all that sort of stuff. Friday, Saturday, we have plenty of vodka Red Bulls, you know. And steering clear of the party drugs. I think that's definitely a stigma that's associated with dance music, but with that, definitely not. And you know what? The top guys, they are not doing drugs. Like, they're not. It's just, you can't do that touring. Well, I couldn't, you know, and be like that. A hangover you can get through, you know. # To get away. # Their success is reflected in their blossoming business empire, which includes owning nightclubs and bars on the Gold Coast party strip. TECHNO MUSIC Boosting their profile, their very own reality TV show with Matt's girlfriend and their business partner. For us, we were already filming a lot of our events, and a lot of acts these days have those behind-the-scenes things going on, and so we were already doing it, and a guy come to us with a concept for the show and we were, like, 'We're doing it, so let's do it.' And I guess that, for us, has opened up some more doors on the world stage as well. The door they're knocking loudest on is America's, where the brothers are basing themselves for the next six months. The scene's blowing up over there. Our dance music has crossed over, and so for us, we've always been touring Europe a lot, been really successful and that, but it was, like, America's such a big market, and I just want to do it. I like that. We'll just try one more now. And that means making your own music rather than playing somebody else's. We joined Matt and Chris in a Sydney recording studio as they laid the finishing touches on their new single Miami Calling. # Miami is calling. # Sounds great. I say it as a joke, like, 'Let's take over the world,' but I really do want to be on that level where our music is being played all around the world, our shows going to every network in the world ` that would be awesome, you know. I want to get it to that level, you know. Can we get there? Who knows? You know, we are trying. Even if they don't reach those lofty heights, it's fair to say the Stafford brothers are having a good time trying along the way. Matt and Chris have just arrived in the United States and are kicking off with a gig in Miami. Coming up ` no sign of slowing down for this dame ` what's keeping this award-winning actress in the limelight. If you retire it seems to be me that something shuts down in you. Don't talk to Judi Dench about slowing down. The acting great doesn't plan to go quietly or even go at all. She's busy filming the next James Bond and can be seen on screen here in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Joanna Hunkin caught up with her in London, where she was refreshingly frank about that old Hollywood problem ` ageing. She's a grand dame of stage and screen. And at 77, she's busier than ever, reprising her role as m in her seventh Bond film... But I do need to know, Bond. I need to know I can trust you. ...and starring in the Oscar-nominated 'My Week with Marilyn' and 'J Edgar'. Six diamonds and a star sapphire. But while we would never dream of using the O word, Dame Judi admits she's getting on a bit. Last month, she revealed her eyesight is failing. She can no longer read scripts, instead has them read aloud to her. Yet retirement will never be an option. If you retire, it seems to me that something shuts down in you. Put a car in a garage and keep it there for a while, and it's not going to start again. It's the reason she ruled out her first career choice. When I was very young, I did want to be a dancer, and my father said to me, 'Well,' he said, 'by all means be a dancer. 'But when you're about 40, you'll probably have to teach dancing things.' And I couldn't quite take that in. In fact, it took some time before Dame Judi found her calling. I was going to be a theatre designer, which I trained to be, and then I thought, 'I'm not going to be good enough at that.' And then I became an actor, because my brother was one. So I caught it from him. And good thing she did. As it turns out, she's rather good at it, winning an Oscar in 1999. There is nothing like a dame. The Oscar goes to Dame Judi Dench. I feel for eight minutes on the screen, I should only get a little bit of him. Shakespeare in love was directed by John Madden. 14 years on, the pair have reteamed for this film ` The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Do you think we'll be all right? It's going to be extraordinary. It's a story about retirement and getting older ` something Dame Judi has strong views on. As her own mother grew older, the actress was so appalled by local care facilities, she and her husband bought a house for the whole family. My father had died, but Michael's parents and my ma... You know, my mother was very lonely. Her husband had died. And so we all pooled together and got a home together. It's stood my daughter in such good` You know, she remembers her grandparents so well and remembers growing up with them. And that's such an essential thing, if you can possibly do it. It's a sore point with her castmates also, including this Oscar nominee. I think for a lot of people, the prospect of retirement is really scary ` in fact, even terrifying. And somehow I think we ought to cope with that better as a society. I don't know how they do it in NZ, but in this country I think they're not dealing with it very well. It's a problem at the heart of the film, which sees a group of retired Brits head to India, where they hope to afford a life of luxury beyond their reach at home. You photoshopped it! I have offered a vision of the future. Of course, I'd hoped that by now it would be the present. The cast's full of recognisable faces from Judi Dench's old friend fellow dame Maggie Smith to Old Snake Hips ` Bill Nighy. Ah, there you are. Good as new. Really? No, of course not. (LAUGHS) But while the cast may be familiar, the role is not. It's a very counter-intuitive part for her in a way, because, you know, she's probably known as much for ball-breakers ` you know, M, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, even, in terms of my own experience ` and obviously this is very very different ` quiet, very modest, has been invisible most of her life. Is she a ball-breaker in real life? Oh! Get out of the way! No, on the contrary. I mean, she's a very powerful presence and she can be formidable, but she isn't remotely like that. She's a gentle person, but an incredibly funny person and an incredibly vulgar person when she wants to be. And the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens here on Thursday. Time for your feedback now, and a lot of you got straight on Facebook after seeing Viv's story. Libya says... Raewyn says... And that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.