WOODBRIDGE — A 46-year-old Avenel woman was allegedly “catfished” for financial gain by a man she met online and was in contact with for a few months, police said.
The woman filed a police report on Oct. 31.
She told police she started talking to the man through an app called “Hangout,” police said.
The man allegedly told her he was currently deployed with the United States Army somewhere in Africa. She said the two never met face to face; however, she told police that she gave him money and sent him gift cards since he was deployed.
The woman further told police that she gave the man her bank account information so he could access her funds since the man promised to marry her upon his return.
On Oct. 30, the woman told police she became concerned when she received several text alerts from her bank stating someone attempted to deposit a fraudulent check in the amount of $1,900.
The only information the woman had on the man was his social media profile, which police told her it appeared to be fake.
Police told the woman they believed she was being catfished, explaining that the term means someone lures another into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona, in this case for financial gain.