Chargebacks911 COO Monica Eaton appeared in a recent feature for Reader’s Digest explaining the very real dangers associated with catfishing scams, as well as the 7 most common catfishing scams to watch out for.
Reader’s Digest is America’s fourth-largest magazine by circulation. After nearly a century in publication, RD stands out more than ever in today’s cultural landscape due to its optimism, faith, heroism, trust, humor, and wellness themes.
As mentioned in the article, no one is immune to catfishing scams. The question: how can you be prepared for it? At its simplest, the scam involves creating a fake online identity to garner romantic attention. Catfishers use photos and details gleaned from the internet and tend to catfish multiple victims at a time.
As an expert in fraud detection and mediation, Monica was asked to share some alarming statistics. “Romance scams increased tenfold between 2015 and 2020,” she says. “The median average loss from romance scams is now $2,500 per person. Romance scams are not just heartbreaking — they can break the bank too."
According to the author, online scams are everywhere nowadays, and anyone is a potential target—victims can be of any age, any gender, or any sexual orientation. Catfishing is at the core of most romance scams, and UK company Scamalytics reports that 500,000 of the 3.5 million dating profiles it scans monthly are bogus.
