One definition of catfishing is a situation where a man or woman uses a false online identity to attract a potential romantic partner. Catfishing is the practice of luring another person into a romantic relationship by using fake photos and videos, and it is most prevalent on online dating sites. The military imposter is an example of a real-life catfishing story.
What is Catfishing Online?
Catfishing occurs when a person creates an online persona based on the personal details and photos of another person. A catfisher may occasionally take the whole identity of a victim—including photo, birthdate, and place of residence—and pose as the owner. The catfisher then poses as another person online to scam them out of money or personal information.
Online dating communities and websites have long been fertile ground for catfishing. Catfishing often involves embellishing one’s online persona to attract a victim by pretending to be someone else. One common tactic is to use a stolen profile picture of someone else to boost their own perceived attractiveness.
In common usage, “catfish” also refers to someone who lies about their occupation, where they live, and their interests. The term “kitten fishing” describes the act of someone faking only a few or relatively minor aspects of their identity.
Signs You’re Being Catfished
#1. Few Friends or Followers
Most people who engage in catfishing do not have many online connections. There are several reasons for this. To begin, the account is usually created for the sole purpose of catfishing a specific individual. In all likelihood, they only use the account for that while reserving their main social media profiles for more personal interactions.
Reducing the likelihood of being caught is another factor. Questions about a catfisher’s true identity, occupation, and whereabouts are likely to increase in frequency as their network of friends and followers grows. Since the catfisher is taking a chance with every inquiry, reducing the number of interactions is important.
Because accepting a friend request verifies a connection, having more friends raises the profile’s visibility to the site’s algorithm. Consequently, a catfisher’s chances of being caught are lower the fewer friends they have.
#2. Their Aversion to Making Calls or Video Calls
They may be trying to hide their true appearance or voice from you if they refuse to talk to you over the phone or participate in a video chat. Most of the time, a catfisher will make up reasons why they cannot meet in person or communicate digitally.
For instance, whenever you try to schedule a meeting, they always have an excuse about how busy they are. If a person repeatedly declines a face-to-face or phone meeting without a good reason, you might be a victim of catfishing.
#3. Their Stories Do Not Add Up
To successfully adopt a new persona, you must tell a series of convincing stories. A careless catfisher can easily get caught. If someone you know claims to live in a different part of the country but suddenly appears in your area, they may be attempting to strengthen your “proximity” with them. Such abrupt changes stand out immediately.
Sometimes the catfisher claims to have gone to a particular university or high school, but they do not know where it is or what it is like there.
#4. They Ask You for Money
It is likely a catfisher if they want money or a gift. You should decline their request, even if you have a personal or professional relationship with them. Avoid sending money to unknown recipients.
#5. They Are Over the Top
It is possible you are being catfished if someone you have never met online claims to have extreme feelings for you or wants to start a major business venture with you. They probably think a big show of affection from them will earn your trust.
Reasons Why Do People Catfish?
There are many motivations for people to engage in catfishing. While some are not malicious, others aim to cause harm to specific individuals. The most common explanations for why people engage in catfishing are:
#1. Insecurity
If the catfisher has low self-esteem, they may try to create an online persona that better reflects their ideal self. They may even use pictures of people they consider more attractive than themselves. They may put on an act of professional success so they can feel the praise for their “successes.”
#2. Concealing their Identity
Several factors motivate internet users to hide their true identities. It is simpler to engage in trolling on online forums when no one recognizes your identity. Certain individuals feel that fabricating their identity is the most convenient way to carry out their plan to cheat on their partner or significant other. In certain cases, someone conceals their identity to demand money from another individual. When someone discovers the scam, the false identity of the catfisher prevents them from reporting the attacker to the authorities.
#3. Mental Illness
Catfishing is sometimes a coping mechanism for people with mental health issues like depression and anxiety. As they adopt a new persona, they gain the self-assurance to interact with others and lead a “normal” digital existence. They feel better about themselves because their online persona is more attractive, successful, or sociable.
#4. Revenge
Occasionally, the imposter’s true motive is to exact vengeance on the victim. They make a fake online persona using the victim’s real name and photo. They then engage in online activity under the target’s name, either to smear their reputation or commit illegal acts.
#5. Experimenting with Sexual Preferences
Catfishing can be a way for some people to learn more about their sexuality. By creating a new online persona, they can pretend to be the sexual orientation that most interests them. By interacting with others while using that persona, they can experience what it would be like to adopt that identity permanently.
#6. To Harass their Target
Targets of online stalking, harassment, or pursuit often resort to blocking their aggressors across multiple social media sites. When this occurs, the aggressor may resort to catfishing to carry out subsequent attacks. The victim does not know who they are chatting with, but the catfisher can see their posts and photos once they become friends or followers. Thus, they can track their activities, timing, and contacts.
What is Catfishing Online Dating?
Catfishing can also take the form of online dating. In the case of catfishing on dating apps, you might be deep into an online relationship before you figure out that your “significant other” is a fake. Catfishing can occur on dating apps and social media platforms, such as:
Examples of Catfishing
#1. The Military Imposter
An example of real-life catfishing is the military imposter. A man by the name of John Edward Taylor was given a 14-year prison term in 2018 for using dating websites to deceive numerous women into believing he was a retired Navy SEAL or CIA agent. Taylor used a false identity to con people out of thousands of dollars by fooling them into thinking he was someone he wasn’t. A later investigation led to his capture and conviction on multiple counts of fraud and identity theft.
#2. The Manti Te’o Case
In 2012, it became public knowledge that popular college football player Manti Te’o had fallen prey to catfishing at the hands of a fictional woman named Lennay Kekua. A man going by the name of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo made up a false identity to trick Te’o into thinking Kekua was his girlfriend. Tuiasosopo had gotten to know Te’o through a fictitious social media profile. He even went so far as to stage Kekua’s passing to win Te’o over. A documentary on Netflix titled “The Girlfriend Who Did Not Exist” later told the same story.
#3. The ISIS Recruiter
The arrest of Mohamad Jamal Khweis, a man from Virginia, in 2015 for attempting to join ISIS in Syria, was widely covered in the media. He believed “Umm Isa al-Amrikiya,” a young Muslim woman, recruited Khweis online. In reality, “Umm Isa” was an ISIS catfisherman recruiting Westerners. Khweis received a 20-year prison term for committing terrorism by joining ISIS and agreeing to carry out a suicide bombing on behalf of the group.
Other real-life examples of catfishing include:
- Nev Schulman: Catfish, a documentary released in 2010, follows Nev Schulman as he falls for a woman named Megan online. Megan turned out to be a fictitious character created by serial catfisher Angela Wesselman-Pierce.
- Carly Ryan: In a classic case of catfishing via MySpace, a 15-year-old named Carly Ryan met a pedophile online who she mistook for a teenage boy and who eventually murdered her in 2006.
- Actor Thomas Gibson started an online relationship in 2011, but things went south when the woman he was having an affair with sent him fake photos she had stolen from porn sites and then used the explicit photos he had sent her to blackmail him.
How to Avoid Catfish Scams
Catfishing is something that calls for your utmost attention and care. Here are some measures you can take to avoid being a victim of “catfish” scammers.
#1. Research the Person
It is important to learn as much as possible about someone before getting involved in a relationship with them online. This may involve doing things like looking up the person’s name on Google or Facebook or searching for suspicious activity or discrepancies in their story. In many cases, a simple Google search of the person’s name will yield a wealth of information that will shed light on whether or not they are who they say they are.
#2. Meet in Person
If at all possible, try to meet the person in a public setting where you can both see and be seen. Before investing significant time and effort into an online conversation, this can help you verify the person’s identity and establish trust. The person’s reluctance to meet in person should serve as a major warning sign.
#3. Keep Private Details to Yourself
Never give out information about yourself or your family online, including your home address, names of family members, social security number, or financial details. Never give out your personal information to anyone, and never send money to someone you just met online unless you know for sure that they are who they say they are.
#4. Trust your Instincts
When meeting someone for the first time online, be wary if they seem too good to be true. Overt compliments, unsettling eagerness to get to know you, and supermodel-like profile pictures are all dead giveaways that someone is a scammer. Pay attention to your intuition and be cautious of people who seem overly eager, pushy, or interested. If you have any doubts or concerns about a person, it is safer to cut ties with them altogether.
Keep your guard up when interacting with strangers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok; these are prime locations for catfishing scammers to set up shop. Do not talk privately with random people you do not know, and do not accept friend requests from them. Make sure that no one can easily access your personal information by checking your privacy settings.
What Are Three Signs That You Are Being Catfished?
- They avoid meeting in person
- They demand for money
- Their stories don’t add up
Why Do People Get Catfished?
People engage in catfishing when they lack confidence in themselves or when they intend to use a false persona to defraud others. It is not uncommon for people to catfish with the intent of cyberbullying or smearing someone’s name.
What do Catfishers want?
A common goal for a catfisher is to ask for financial assistance. The goal of a “catfisher” is to get their “loved ones” to send them money by appealing to their “pity” or “affection.”
Who Is Most Likely to Be Catfished?
Sixty-four percent of predators specifically target women over the age of forty, while twenty-four percent of catfishers use a false identity. Every demographic, from young adults (18+) to the elderly (70+), is fair game for catfishers.
How do you Outsmart a Catfish?
Keep an eye out for warning signs, never give out personal information, and refrain from sending money to people you do not know offline or online. You can outwit a catfish now that you are familiar with the various means at your disposal.
Look into them, get them together in person, and don’t fall for very early romance signs
What Do Catfishers Do With Photos?
Catfishers will create fake profiles and use fake photos to attract potential victims because they do not want to reveal who they are.
Who do Catfishers Target?
A person who catfishes goes online in search of emotionally weak and naive individuals in the hopes of initiating communication with them and eventually developing a romantic connection with them. Anyone has the potential to become a victim of the online scam known as “catfishing.”
Why is it Called Catfishing?
Due to the ease with which one’s identity can be misrepresented on the internet, the deceptive behavior known as “catfishing” has been practiced online for a considerable amount of time. Due in large part to the success of a 2010 documentary of the same name, the term “catfish” entered the popular lexicon. In 2012, MTV premiered a show under the title “Catfish.”
Conclusion
You need to be vigilant about your online safety if you want to avoid being a victim of catfishing. This includes trusting one’s instincts, knowing how to spot red flags associated with scams, and exercising caution when interacting with strangers online.
These warning indicators of catfishing should compel you to act if you or someone you know is getting close to someone they met online.
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