Warning over homophobic ‘catfish’ attacks

Members of Cork’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) community have been warned to take safety precautions when meeting online dates after reports of orchestrated attacks by assailants using websites and dating apps to attract their victims.

A Facebook warning about the attacks has been widely shared on the social media network. The post’s author, Louise O’Donnell, said that a friend had been attacked by a group of men having arranged a date through a website.

“Unfortunately, there is a group or groups of young people in Cork carrying out organised beatings against members of this community. Posing as young men and women on different sites including Tinder, Plenty of Fish and Grindr, they aim to get young gay and lesbians alone in secluded areas of the city to carry out vicious assaults,” the post read.