How Common is Catfishing?
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center gives the public the opportunity to report Internet-facilitated crimes. In 2016, romance scams resulted in the highest amount of financial losses to victims when compared with other online crimes. The losses associated with the 15,000 complaints categorized as romance scams exceeded $230 million. Keep in mind that a very small sum of all cases are actually reported, meaning that the losses have the potential to be magnitudes higher. When it comes to online dating, Catfishing is a serious problem. The money, however, is not the only issue. As a result of the great lengths Catfishers go to in order to deceive their victims, hearts are broken, lives are altered, and dreams are crushed.
The study above conducted by Morning Consult in January 2018, polled 644 adults who had used a dating app/service. What they found is worrying. One in every three people that responded to the survey discovered that someone lied about their identity or had been Catfished. As a follow up, the respondents could be asked about the duration and damage of their experiences. This data might help us better understand the severity of each encounter.
Catfishing tied with feeling uncomfortable after contact for the most popular response out of the five options given in the survey. I think it’s safe to say that it’s a pretty well-known term among the online dating community. As for those who don’t know what it means to be Catfished, it’s time to educate yourself. With more information, your chances of becoming a victim can be greatly reduced.