Catfishing is defined as “luring (someone) into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona”.
The goal of building this relationship could be any one of the following:
- To bully or harass or physically harm the victim (see: cyberbullying, grooming)
- To gain personal information about the victim to commit fraud with their information
The following may be signs that you are being catfished by a person:
- they have no (or very few) “Friends” or “Followers”
- their profile seems very new / has very little history in comparison to their age
- they avoid meetings & video calls
- their picture is too good to be true
- they claim you’re neighbours / friends-of-friends / related / at the same school/club
- they get serious, over-friendly or intimate way too fast
- they ask for personal information or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable
- they always seem to need help
- their stories seem far-fetched or too vague
Above list adapted from https://www.littlethings.com/catfishing-signs-to-know/
