You've probably heard a lot about online dating and other "phishing" scams out there. You also probably think you or your loved ones are too smart to fall for them.

But, what if I told you that last year over 1000 people reported being scammed to the tune of over $16 million... just in Texas!

That should give you an appreciation for how big these scams are. To me, the dating scams on sites like match.com are most disturbing because they take advantage of vulnerable, often insecure people.

So, please take a look at the news report a friend of mine recently sent me that shows you just one victim of a match.com scam.

If you have kids in high school or older, please educate them about online scams, because the victims keep getting younger. I've even heard of kids using their parents credit cards to get these creeps money, as they are always finding new stories to hook people.

Also, before you or anyone in your family starts a match.com free trial, know what you're getting into. They have hundreds of complaints online from people who didn't realize that they would be billed when their free trial ended.

That's not as bad, but even losing $50 can sting!

Anyway, here's the news report my friend sent me of a Houston-based man who lost $80k. His name is Greg, and is a smart guy who made a bad decision. (as we all are prone to do in life)

The worst part might be that he was also in the line of fire for hurricane Harvey, which happened after this news report.

Good grief!

link: Houston man loses 80k in online dating scam: - khou.com/news (Houston, Tx)

Anyone have personal experience with one of these scams?