#527
Swipe Left On The Catfish
Published:
Feb 17, 2024
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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Nobody likes a catfish – especially one that could drain you of all of your cash! And although Valentine’s Day brought a lot of love in the air, it surely came with a cost to quite a few people. Romance scams, also known as confidence scams, are classified as schemes where perpetrators create fake identities and gain their victim’s trust and affection to enact nefarious deeds, including requesting serious cash or even getting access to financial accounts.
In 2022, Britains lost a total of $113m dollars to said schemes yet when you double click, it amounted to over $14k per victim! In the same year, American counterparts reported losses of over $739m amounting to nearly $39k per registered complaint. As generative AI has proliferated throughout daily life and consumers have easy access to deepfake images and even voice recordings (which can be across languages or even matching your favorite celebrity), the line between your “forever person” and a fraudster have never been more blurred. Santander even released a recent “Love Hurts” campaign to alert Brits of this rising threat.
Not all is gray for our hopeless romantics, though, as some dating apps are finding new ways to vet their users for better matchmaking. For example, a new one popped up in the US that requires all members to have a credit score of at least 675 to join – with the goal of elevating the discussion around financial health. Others are embracing generative AI, where you can “date” AI bot characters or where you can build a customized avatar to become a companion that evolves with you over time. Yet as Valentine’s Day passes, we have to ask: do you think you could spot any red flags, or would you be next to send all of your money to a handsome (but desperate) PrInCe iN NiGeRia?
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Swipe Left On The Catfish
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