These States Have The Most Romance Scams, According To New Study

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting the country down back in March, online dating has seen a huge surge in popularity. Knowing that, however, has led some online daters to be more wary of catfishing schemes. According to a new study conducted by HighSpeedInternet.com, some states are much more susceptible to these types of romance scams than others. Here's what they found.

States where you’re most likely to be catfished:

  1. Nevada
  2. Wyoming
  3. Washington
  4. Utah
  5. Alaska
  6. New Hampshire
  7. Minnesota
  8. Florida
  9. Oregon
  10. Maryland

States where you’re least likely to be catfished:

  1. South Dakota
  2. Mississippi
  3. Iowa
  4. Lousiana
  5. Maine
  6. Kansas
  7. Vermont
  8. Nebraska
  9. Ohio
  10. North Carolina

According to this study, a total number of 19,473 people across the country have reported a total of $475,014,032 in cash lost to catfishing scams in 2019. Here are the states with the most and least amount of dollars lost per victim.

States with the most dollars lost per victim:

  1. Oklahoma – $70,288 per victim
  2. Montana – $68,102 per victim
  3. Massachusetts – $62,018 per victim
  4. California – $48,891 per victim
  5. Louisiana – $44,859 per victim
  6. Washington – $33,700 per victim
  7. Florida – $31,916 per victim
  8. Rhode Island – $29,300 per victim
  9. Delaware – $28,007 per victim
  10. Colorado – $25,382 per victim

States with the least dollars lost per victim:

  1. Maine – $3,820 per victim
  2. D.C. – $5,531 per victim
  3. Wyoming – $7,279 per victim
  4. North Dakota – $9,327 per victim
  5. Kentucky – $9,955 per victim
  6. Indiana – $11,282 per victim
  7. Alaska – $11,947 per victim
  8. Vermont – $12,463 per victim
  9. Ohio – $12,562 per victim
  10. Wisconsin – $12,617 per victim

For more information on how to avoid catfishing scams, visit HighSpeedInternet.com.

Photo: Getty/HighSpeedInternet


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