Catfishing is a deceptive activity in which a person creates a fictional persona or fake identity on a social networking service, usually targeting a specific victim. The term "catfishing" comes from a 2010 documentary film in which a man named Nev Schulman presented his own experience of being tricked online. The goal of catfishing is to initiate a relationship with a victim, build trust, and extract personal information. Catfishers use fake photos, and sometimes a false persona, to find friends or romantic partners on the internet. They may also use a profile picture they stole from someone else to appear more attractive and falsify professions, locations, and likes and dislikes. Catfishing can be used to attract a person from the Internet and allow them to meet them in person. The person catfishing can lure a victim to a place to be kidnapped or hurt in another way. Sexual predators use fake identities to talk to teens, allowing them to get close to them so that the victim will trust them. This then allows for the predator to get information from the victim to use that information to potentially harm them.
People catfish for a variety of reasons, including poor self-esteem, depression or anxiety, to hide their identity, targeted revenge, targeted harassment, to explore their sexuality, or to defraud others. Catfishing is abusive and deceptive, and it can be extremely damaging to the mental health of the victim, especially if they are emotionally invested in a friendship or romantic relationship with the catfisher. Victims of catfishing can find it extremely difficult to trust after their experience, affecting relationships both personal and professional.
To spot a catfisher, one should look for signs such as avoiding showing their face, overwhelming with loving messages or words, attempting to get the victim to commit to a relationship without meeting in person, and asking for money for a seemingly worthy cause. If someone suspects they are being catfished, they should do their own research and verify the persons identity before sharing any personal information.
