Are you familiar with “catfishing”? Maybe you’ve been a victim yourself? I hope not!
There’s even been TV shows about catfish scammers creating false personas on social media or dating apps to reel in unsuspecting victims.
Turns out Florida has been taking the bait all too often. The Sunshine State snagged the runner-up spot for the most catfished state in the U.S.
Researchers at Emisil used Google data, reporting from the FBI and some other sources, to rank states by the number of victims per 100,000 residents, number of scams reported annually, the total money lost due to the scams and number of catfishing related searches, such as “How do I know if I’m being catfished?”
Florida was found to be second in the nation for financial losses to catfishing scams, totaling $70,483,554! We also rank third for the highest number of annual catfishing reports at 1,738.
Topping the list as the most catfished state is California, with nearly $200 million lost to catfishing and the highest number of reported cases.
AARP has tips for spotting and avoiding romance scams. If meeting new people online, use caution to avoid falling for deceptive profiles. Use your browser’s image search feature on photos to look for any red flags.
If you find yourself being asked for money by someone you’ve only encountered online, that should also be a dead giveaway that you’re being catfished. Be alert, as this is a common tactic in scams. Cut off contact immediately and report the incident to the platform where the initial interaction took place.
Take a look at more tips here.