Avoid catfish scams as post-pandemic dating heats back up | #datingscams | #lovescams

CHICAGO (WLS) — As post-pandemic in-person dating starts to heat back up, beware of scammers trying to catfish in hopes of draining your bank account.

According to socialcatfish.com, data from the FBI shows that Illinois is the 9th most “catfished” state.

It also showed that 688 victims lost more than $14 million to romance scammers who were allegedly using fake pictures.

Scammers trick lonely victims into sending money by luring them in with hopes of love.

Tips to avoid becoming a victim:

You should never give money or sensitive information to anyone you meet online;

Try to safely meet someone in person or on video chat fairly quickly after you first connect, and don’t let someone string you along;

You can also do a reverse photo search on various platforms to see if its scammer lifting pictures from other people’s profiles.