The list below contains common signs of catfishing. These are the “red flags” that can be checked out on social media.
- They avoid video calls and face-to-face meetings or in some cases phone calls. Keep in mind this could be an older person pretending to be young. Or it could be a man pretending to be a woman.
- Little or no online presence. Usually, you will only find the catfisher on the platform where they found you. You rarely see them on multiple platforms.
- They have very few friends or followers. And if you check their friends may have the same red flags.
- The catfisher is usually new to the platform. And their sparse profile may have been set up in the last month or so.
- Typically use professional or stolen photos. And they rarely, if ever, update photos of themselves. Although they may be stealing images of who they are pretending to be.
- The catfisher at times asks for money. This is not acceptable. They usually ask for money after they gain your trust. Scammers may also run more than one scam through their profile.
- The catfisher may ask you to send them explicit photographs or videos. This is a bad idea. Do not let them send you pornographic images. And never send any to them.
Why do people catfish?
Some catfishers may be just lonely and create a persona strictly for innocent online interaction. They may be talking to people they believe would not talk to them if they see how they look in “real life.”
