Therapist warns of catfishing scams this holiday season
Dr. Joe Kort, clinical director of the Center for Relationship and Sexual Health in Royal Oak, found out that his photo was being used on social media to scam women.
He received a message from a woman he didn’t know, saying she was in love with him. Soon, they both realized that, for years, someone else had been sending her photos, pretending to be him, and exploiting her for money.
“She wanted to process what had happened to her and felt a connection to me because of the photo exchange over social media. I explained that I was a therapist and a happily married gay man,” said Kort.
He learned that his photo has been used in more than 20 different scams over the last decade. He was furious. After looking into federal laws, he was able to force Facebook and Instagram to remove the fake profiles – but still, year after year, he sees a new one pop up.
“Exploiting vulnerable people for money – particularly those seeking romance – is at the heart of catfishing. It refers to people who claim to be someone else – who have stolen another person’s identity from (social media) – and use it to romance and get money from unsuspecting victims,” he said.
Kort offered these tips to help others avoid being a catfish victim:
• Does their profile photo look like a stock image? Are they sharing much information about themselves?
• Try a quick Google search or reverse image search and run a background check on the person to determine if he/she is who they claim to be.
• Don’t share personal information and never send money, no matter what hard luck story they share. That is a big red flag.
• Ask to set up a video chat and see how they respond to the request.
He has heard of more scams like this during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people not leaving their homes. They are lonely and doing most of their dating virtually.
“Why romance scam victims don’t ask for webcam communication continues to concern me. I think it speaks loudly about the victims’ longing to be loved,” said Kort. “Something must be done to stop these crimes that are rampant across the country.”
For more information, call 248-399-7447 or email JoeKort@JoeKort.com.