In a Fox 25 news segment, reporter Heather Hajdžić, online security expert Robert Siciliano, and Mayor Marty Walsh discuss a recent wave of catfishing scams in Boston's Mattapan and Roxbury neighborhoods that culminated in six armed robberies over five weeks. Victims were lured through online dating sites or social media, arranged to meet at private residences, and were then robbed at gunpoint. Police are actively investigating, examining emails, texts, phone calls, and IP addresses to trace the perpetrators, though they declined interview requests. Siciliano warns against meeting strangers in private homes or isolated parks, recommending public, well‑populated locations or police stations. The mayor confirms the investigation remains active and may involve multiple departments.
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Tonight in Boston, an alert about a troubling trend that ends with people being lured into an armed robbery. Fox 25's Heather Hajdžić is live in Mattapan. It's one of the neighborhoods where these crimes are happening. Heather.
And sadly, Elizabeth, these victims all have one thing in common, and that's that they're looking for love or companionship online. Then they're agreeing to meet up at specific addresses here in Mattapan and in Roxbury, and that's when they're being victimized.
Every single online dating site out there is populated with fraudulent scammers, catfishers, trying to hurt people or steal money from them.
Catfishers have hit Boston. Boston police now alerting online daters. 6 people were robbed over the course of 5 weeks after they'd made contact with an online profile. They met on social media or dating websites, but police say when they went to meet up at a specific residence, They were robbed at gunpoint. Police aren't giving out the address or addresses where it's happening, but online security expert Robert Siciliano says you should never meet someone you don't know at a home or anywhere that's not surrounded by people.
Even meeting somebody at a park, unless it's a heavily populated park with a lot of people, could be potentially dangerous.
So what is catfishing? It's when criminals post fake profile pictures of attractive people to lure victims. Experts say if a person online seems too good to be true, They probably are. And while catfishing is a relatively sophisticated scam, Siciliano says catfishers aren't always as sophisticated when it comes to covering their tracks. He says there's a good chance police are already hot on their trail.
More than likely, police are investigating emails sent and received, text messages or phone calls made. They're looking at any communication that might give them insight as to how they can find this person, where to locate them. Even a physical computer IP address might be able to help them catch the bad guy.
Police turned down our requests for an interview, but Mayor Marty Walsh tells us the investigation is still very active.
I know that police are investigating, and they probably look at doing some work with other, other departments as well.
And back to the point now about where to meet up. Siciliano says, you know, it's always a good idea to meet up at a busy coffee shop, but he also says you shouldn't be embarrassed to ask somebody to meet you at the police department. You know, if they really like you, they should want you to feel comfortable. Reporting live Kevin Madapan. I'm Heather Hedgedus, Fox 25 News.
