A new study conducted by Techshielder has revealed that Nigeria is the second country in the world with the most reported romance scams, next to the Philippines.
Romance scam or Catfishing or dating scam has been defined as creating a fake profile to attract someone online.
Fraudsters befriend victims over the internet in the hope that they can get them to send money.
A huge driving force for dating scams is the financial gains for the fraudsters. They build trust with the victims with the aim of getting them to send money under false pretences.
Catfishing scams have seen a huge increase over the course of the pandemic.
Fraudsters have not only left many people broken-hearted but also have left their pockets empty.
Techshielder analysed international and domestic reports to find the place one is most likely to fall victim to a dating scam, as well as the monetary loss per victim.
The analysis also revealed where the biggest fraudsters live, the cities with the highest number of victims and how much money is lost to find the places you should avoid when looking for love.
The research found that last year, dating scams cost the world a massive $218 million, which works out to be an average loss of $17,661 per victim.
It turns out that the Philippines is responsible for the highest number of dating scam cases.
Over 1,300 romance fraud cases have been reported against the country, and they are responsible for a whopping $4 million in financial loss.
Ranking in second place is Nigeria. With a population of 201 million, Nigeria has accounted for 1,129 reports of scams.
The total amount of money lost due to Nigerian dating scams is a staggering $16.8 million, this totals to an average loss per victim of $14,892.
Rounding off the top three is Canada. The world’s second-largest country has taken $7.8 million out of love-seekerspockets and has broken 1054 hearts due to catfishing.
At the other end of the scale, we have the European country of Iceland. The nation has only accounted for a total of 1 case of dating scam and has stolen no money at all.
The study also the United Kingdom has scammed the most amount of money with romance scams. Nigeria is third on the money scale.
United Kingdom ($34,124,000 reported lost from victims)
Turkey ($25,668,000)
Nigeria ($16,814,000)
China ($15,195,000)
Ghana ($11,425,000)
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