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September 29th, 2023
There are plenty of fish in the sea, and any number of those fish could be fishing for you. It’s always exciting when someone takes an interest in you, but the world can be a scary place if the “sea” is the Internet and those “fish” could be catfish: people who are pretending to be someone online that isn’t really who they are in real life. – Or they could even be a romance scammer posing as an online catfish…
Online dating sites, casual chat rooms, and a myriad of other virtual opportunities to meet people can be really fun and really fulfilling. There are a lot of positive relationships that can be built in the online world. However, you don’t want to get involved in that world without being on your guard. If you plan to have an online profile and interact with people you don’t know in real life, you definitely need to know the following tips and tricks.
Tip #1: Go for Google
When you meet someone online, the first thing you should do is to creep the crap out of their profiles. What are they saying their name is?
Do any of their profiles say where they live or have lived in the past? Google that name with that location and see what you can find. Do any of their profiles list where they work or what they do professionally? Google that company or profession with their name and see if anything comes up.
Do they list their birthday or any family members’ names? Google those with their name and see what you can find. Do they have pictures of themselves on their profiles? Right click a picture, copy the url, and paste it into Google to see if any images come up in the search. (If you’re a grindr or tinder user, Veracity is a good app to use for the same function.)
Do they have a friends list? How many friends are on it? Google some friends and see what you can find. If a person has little to no friends on their friends list, that’s something to be concerned about. If you look at their friends’ profiles and it seems like they could be fake, that should be a warning sign.
Tip #2: Be Picky About Pictures
No, I’m not saying you need to be body-shaming people or nit-picking their every flaw. What I am saying is to pay attention to the pictures the person puts on their profile.
Aside from Googling their image URLs, is anything else off? Do they have pictures with family and friends? Are other people tagging them in photos? Or are there just a bunch of pictures of just them. Alone. Taken from strange angles. Or with unusual lighting. Or that look strangely photoshopped. If it’s the latter, then you want to be wary. You also want to be wary of photos where your friend is the only one tagged in a group of people or if the other people in the pictures all look like they could be models. If the photos look too posed, your person might be posing as someone they’re not.
You also want to be wary of photos where your friend is the only one tagged in a group of people or if the other people in the pictures all look like they could be models. If the photos look too posed, your person might be posing as someone they’re not.
Tip #3: You Need to Take Notes
Okay, so you don’t necessarily have to have a big fat notebook filled with observations, but you should definitely be paying attention to everything this person is saying to you. If someone is telling you stories that conflict each other, something’s off. If they tell you about people in their lives, like a sister named Sarah, and then magically don’t know anything about that person at a later time, something’s off.
If someone talks about traveling too often in a given space of time or if they tell you a lot of stories that don’t seem to align with each other, something’s off. Something worth noting: Catfish are good at deceiving people, but some are better at it than others. If someone is telling outlandish tales that seem to be out of a movie, you’ve got one of the less-skilled catfish in your boat.
Tip #4: Promises Aren’t Proof
Maybe you’re certain that this person is the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe you’re positive that they would never tell a lie. Maybe they have you convinced they would never hurt a fly. Well, I’m sorry to say this, but catfish eat flies. And they develop entire alter-egos based on lies. You can’t base your opinion of someone solely on what they promise you they’ll be. You can’t rely on somebody to be truthful just because they promise they’ll always be true to you.
You should never give money or buy something for someone just because they promise they’ll pay you back or use it in a certain way or just because they promise that they “need” it. Yes, it’s great to feel supported and it’s great to do nice things for people. It would be wonderful if every person you met online truly was what they claimed to be. But if somebody seems “perfect” or “too good to be true” or makes promises they likely can’t and/or won’t follow through on, then they aren’t the kind of fish you want on your line.
Tip #5: Webcams are Worth it
Talking to someone over a webcam can do a few things. It can prove whether or not they look like their pictures, it can make them feel more real to you through visual human interaction, and it can allow you to read their body language as they respond to what you say.
Pay attention to how the person moves and where the person’s eyes go in response to different topics. Pay attention to the room the person is sitting in. Do any other people seem to be around? What’s the lighting like?
Webcams are windows, and you should be using yours to find out what it’s really like on the other end of that connection. If the person seems to have chosen to video chat in a place that’s dark or isolated, you may want to proceed with caution. If a person refuses to video chat at all in the first place, that’s a giant red flag waving at you to shut things down.
Tip #6: Use Special Searches
By using the built-in searches on Socialcatfish.com, you can use emails, names, phone #s, images, and usernames to verify if someone is real.
https://socialcatfish.com/reverse-email-address-search/
Remember that even with these tips, sometimes a catfish will still slip through your net. The Internet can be a fun and exciting realm to visit, but if it’s not lining up with the real world, it’s not worth the risk of being taken advantage of at any level. Don’t forget that some catfish are more skilled than others: pay attention to these things no matter how long you’ve trusted a person. Overall, you just need to stay on your toes and be safe out there.
