Let this be just another reminder, Wisconsinites, that the person on the other end of those texts, emails or chats might be after your wallet, not your heart.

A new report has revealed that the people of Wisconsin are more likely to fall victim to online dating scams than almost anywhere else in the country.

Using data collection from the FBI's 2018 internet crime report and the U.S. Census Bureau's population estimates for 2018, HighSpeedInternet.com found that Wisconsin is the No. 3 state for catfishing cases per capita.

HighSpeedInternet.com is a website self-described as helpful for consumers to make informed decisions when selecting an internet service provider.

The study also looked at the cost per victim in each state. Wisconsin landed in the middle tier nationally, with victims getting taken for an average of $14,330. North Carolina was tops with $47,886.

Catfishing is the term used for online romance scams where a person pretends to be someone they're not. The name was popularized by the 2010 film "Catfish." The perpetrator will often attempt to use a fake identity to begin a relationship with a victim and eventually ask for (or just straight-up steal) money.

Here are the top 10 states where a person is most likely to be catfished, according to the report:

1. Alaska

2. Nevada

3. Wisconsin

4. New Mexico

5. Colorado

6. Washington

7. Oregon

8. Arizona

9. Wyoming

10. Virginia

Other takeaways from the findings:

► The states where you're least likely to get catfished include Illinois, Georgia, South Dakota, Mississippi and Ohio.

► California is the state with the highest total catfishing victims, but it also has the highest population. By capita it's No. 37.

► Vermont had the fewest number of catfishing victims and ranks 49th in population.

The FBI launched their internet crime report in 2015 and that year reported about 10,000 romance scams. By 2018 the number of scams per year has climbed beyond 15,500.

So consider it a warning: The Better Business Bureau also has reported that as many as one in seven online dating profiles are fake. They've also said only about 10% of people who've been catfished report the incident.

You can read the full findings from HighSpeedInternet.com here.

Contact Shane Nyman at 920-996-7223 or snyman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @shanenyman.