Catfishing is an online scam in which a person assumes a false identity and uses it to win another person's trust. The scam typically involves the simulation of a romantic relationship that progresses toward requesting money and can include blackmail and sextortion.

How can you know if you're being catfished?

Several red flags could point to a catfisher. But the three more vital signs would be avoidance of video calls and physical meetings, the use of stolen pictures, especially if they're too professional, and requesting money.

Is catfishing very frequent?

In 2020, there were 23,000 reported catfishing cases in the US. It's anybody's guess what the actual figure is, including the unreported instances. So as an American internet user, your chances of having somebody catfishing you successfully are about 1%.

What is Catfishing Online: The Signs and How to Protect

Sneak peek at catfishing

The internet has given scammers a great new toy to play with. Among all the digital scams, perhaps the lowest one is “catfishing.” In this modality, a person will use an alternate and false identity to win over somebody else’s trust. From there, things can go almost everywhere, unfortunately. Because awareness is the best way to avoid falling victim to catfishers, this article gives you all the essential information you need to know about the issue.

Social media and online dating are signs of our times. Both phenomena exploded over the last decade, and catfishing grew along with both explosions, as could only be expected. In 2020, more than 23,000 US residents fell victim to catfishing. And that was with the Covid-19 pandemic at its worst stage. Moreover, consider the damage it does. Those 23,000 victims lost about 605 million USD as their catfishers succeeded.

So what is this “catfishing” thing you keep hearing about? How can you get catfished? Where? Why? What are the signs? What can I do to protect myself from a catfishing artist? If these questions bother you, you’ve landed at the right place. Here, we tell you everything you need to know about catfishing.

What is catfishing?

A catfisher is an internet user who falsely persuades another internet user about wanting a romantic relationship. The scam usually involves creating a false identity, complete with made-up stories, fake pictures, and everything else the catfisher needs to seem completely genuine.

Catfishers come in many flavors. Some of them want to have more romantic attention from another person. But there is also a more mercenary and malicious species with darker motivations. Many of them seek to earn the victim’s trust. Then, they hit, and they ask for money. Once the situation has gone that far, a variety of additional strategies can come into play, like sextortion. Whatever it takes to get the cash they want.