catfishing scams online dating

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Catfishing scams: This is how much lovelorn South Africans paid online fraudsters in 2020

Catfishing or romance scams swindled people across the world out of more than R3 billion. South Africa is one of the countries where you are most likely to fall victim to such a scam.

catfishing scams online dating

Photo: Pixabay

South Africa is one of the countries where you are most likely to be catfished and it could cost you dearly, according to an analysis conducted by Techshielder. The business was booming in the online romance scam network, which raked in more than R3 billion across the world in 2020.

SCAMMERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PANDEMIC

The technology and internet security website, Techshielder, said that catfishing scams – also known as dating or romance scams – have seen a huge spike over the course of the pandemic, spurred on by the isolation and loneliness that people have experienced across the world since the onset of COVID-19.

“Defined as creating a fake profile to attract someone online, catfishing is a modern term that was coined in 2010 by the producers of the American documentary Catfish,” said Techshielder, adding that the scams are not only confined to romantic relationships but can also take the form of familial, friendly or business relationships.

With their analysis, the company set out to discover the world’s catfish hotspots, and how much money people have lost to these scams. In 2020, dating scams cost the world £157 million (R3.1 billion). South Africa was in the top 20 countries where you are most likely to fall victim to such scams.

ALSO READ: Nigerian mafia leaders arrested for romance scams in Cape Town

CATFISH SCAMS IN SA

South Africa had 190 cases of reported catfishing scams in 2020, which was enough to earn it 18th place in the world – the top 20 list was topped by the Philippines with 1315 reports and footed by Colombia with 183 fraud cases.

South Africa may be relatively low in terms of the number of cases reported but the average victim in the country forked out a disproportionate amount of money – £35 433 (R695 663,18) – the second-most in the world, bested only by the average Chinese victim who lost £45 004 (R883 572,53).

“The average amount of money reported lost by victims was calculated by dividing the overall money lost by the number of reports,” said Techshielder.

Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire were the other African countries represented in the top 20. In Nigeria, 1129 catfishing scams were reported at an average loss of £10 719 (R210 448,27), while in Ghana the 534 cases came at a cost of £15 398 (R302 312,01).

The table below shows the countries with the most catfishing scam victims and the average amount lost per victim.

No.CountryNo. of ReportsAverage amount lost per victim
1Philippines1315£2 506
2Nigeria1129£10 719
3Canada1054£5 365
4United Kingdom978£25 112
5Turkey683£27 048
6Ghana534£15 398
7Afghanistan485£9 561
8Germany361£9 209
9Morocco314£949
10Mexico259£7 717
11United Arab Emirates249£28 907
12China243£45 004
13Jamaica243£3 373
14Cote d’Ivoire229£610
15Dominican Republic221£1238
16France213£4227
17Italy208£14 214
18South Africa190£35 433
19Syria190£13 584
20Colombia183£4090
Source: Techshielder

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