Cork LGBT community warned of 'catfish' attacks

A group in Cork is setting up fake online dating accounts to prey on LGBT people in the city - a practice known as 'catfishing'

Members of the LGBT community in Cork have been sharing a warning about the danger on Facebook, the Irish Examiner reports today.

The warning was issued on Facebook by Louise O'Donnnell after a friend of hers was confronted by a group of men after arranging a date in Cork City Centre.

"When he got there four or five men hopped out of a van. Thankfully he managed to get away,” she told the Examiner.

The practice of creating fake online personas for deceiving others on dating websites. The term was popularised by the 2010 documentary film of the phenomenon, 'Catfish'.

"I'm beyond horrified to have to write this status. However, I think it's important that the LGBT community be made aware of a very dangerous situation in Cork," O'Donnell wrote in her Facebook post.

"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."

— Originally reported by Joe Leogue in the Irish Examiner.