New Study: USD 184M Lost in Top Catfished States of 2024

New Study: USD 184M Lost in Top Catfished States of 2024

Dil Bar Irshad | September 10, 2024 | 06:15 AM IST | Featured by VoM, Featured Edition | Follow on Google News

New Study: USD 184M Lost in Top Catfished States of 2024

New Study: USD 184M Lost in Top Catfished States of 2024

• California is the most catfished state in the US, with $184 million lost to romance scams.
• Florida is the second on the list, reporting over 1.7K romance scams yearly. 
• Alaska has the highest number of catfishing victims, at 12 people per 100K population. 

A study conducted by Emisil identified the most catfished US States. Google Keyword Planner, FBI reports, and data from other official sources were used to rank the states by analyzing the number of catfishing victims per 100K, the number of romance scam reports, the total amount of money lost to romance scams, and the total number of various catfishing related searches, such as “How to know if I am being catfished.”

California tops the list as the most catfished State in the US, with a composite score of 146. This state reports the highest amount of money lost to romance scams, totaling $184 million.

Florida is the second on the list, generating a composite score of 143. This state reports over 1.7K romance scams each year, and the money lost to those scams is the second highest among the listed states, surpassed only by California. 

Nevada is third on the list, with a composite score of 142, only one point behind Florida. This state is the most afraid of being catfished, as shown by the highest number of searches for “Am I being catfished?” Additionally, Nevada has the second-highest number of catfishing victims among the listed states.

Arizona ranks fourth on the list of most catfished US states, with its composite score of 140. It has the third-highest number of scamming victims per 100K, surpassed only by Nevada and Alaska. 

Washington holds the fifth place on the list, with a total score of 139. It has the second-highest number of searches for “How to find out if I am being catfished,”  with only Nevada surpassing it.

Utah claims the sixth spot on the list of most catfished US states, with a total score of 133. Like California, it has an average of 8 catfishing scam victims per 100K population.

Texas is the seventh most catfished US state, with a composite score of 133. However, it ranks third in the total amount of money lost to romance scams, totaling $65 million.

Oregon ranks eighth on the list with its composite number of 132. On average, this state reports 360 romance scams annually and loses $12 million to them.

New Mexico is the ninth most catfished US state, with a total number of 132. Like Utah and California, there are 8 catfishing scam victims per 100K population.

Alaska closes the list of the most catfished US states with a composite score of 127. However, it reports the second-highest number of scam victims per 100K people, with an average of almost 12 victims.

Commenting on this study, a spokesperson from Emisil.com says: “To avoid being catfished, it is important to use services like Google Images to check if the person’s photos appear elsewhere on the internet with different names or details and request video calls to confirm identity. Avoid sharing sensitive personal information (address, financial details, etc.) with someone you’ve only met online. Use trusted dating and social platforms that offer additional verification features and remove fake profiles.”

Dil Bar Irshad

Dil Bar Irshad is a seasoned journalist, hails from Jammu Kashmir's Doda, covers political, social, business stories, index stories.