Have You Ever Been Catfished?

SofiasMami · Sep 21, 2015

I had some spare time this weekend and watched some episodes of "Catfish". It's a show on MTV - if you're not familiar with Catfishing, it's when someone reaches out to other people on the web under false pretenses or with a false identity, usually through social media, and starts a relationship with their victim and continues with the front of the false identity.
It never ends well because invariably the other person will want to meet in person or video chat. Since that would blow the ruse, catfishers come up with all kinds of excuses not to meet up.
The show "Catfish" exposes the catfish, sometimes by ambush (it's a good show).
Have you ever been catfished? I never have, fortunately; it seems like relationships predicated on lies have been around since time immemorial but the web is a whole new tool for trickery.

-Teresa

BeyondShy · Sep 21, 2015

No I never have but by golly if I ever do I know who I am going to blame it on.

Nicolelt · Sep 21, 2015

I love that show! I watched one where the people catfishes the catfish people.

I guess I reversed catfished a guy once. He didn't believe that I looked like what I did in my pics and was expecting to be.

SofiasMami · Sep 21, 2015

Nicolelt said:
I love that show! I watched one where the people catfishes the catfish people.

Yes, I saw that one too. It makes me not want to trust anyone on social media lol. Although I don't think I would do an exclusively online relationship. It doesn't seem very fulfilling. I need a voice, a face, someone in real life.

BeyondShy said:
No I never have but by golly if I ever do I know who I am going to blame it on.

Oh? Do tell - who would you blame it on?

(Edit to add: Ok, maybe don't answer that

)

user 130057 · Sep 21, 2015

I did once think that a woman I was talking to online was a dude, but thankfully it was just that she had a name that sounded more male than female. Lucky that, seeing as she ended up being my wife... and then my ex-wife.

Nuke1967 · Sep 21, 2015

I used to play Star Wars Galaxies online, and one of our guild leaders who was pretending to be a guy, we all thought he was a guy till a lady in our guild who was having a thing with him/her dropped by his place of work on a unexpected visit to find out her online fling was another woman.

I knew of some other instances as well, why I kinda never got involved with online romances.

Veruca · Sep 22, 2015

Yeah there were dudes who refused to share their pictures and kept postponing meeting up but I eventually gave up so I dont know if they were really shy or were fake :S

Triple Bogey · Sep 22, 2015

SofiasMami said:
I had some spare time this weekend and watched some episodes of "Catfish". It's a show on MTV - if you're not familiar with Catfishing, it's when someone reaches out to other people on the web under false pretenses or with a false identity, usually through social media, and starts a relationship with their victim and continues with the front of the false identity.
It never ends well because invariably the other person will want to meet in person or video chat. Since that would blow the ruse, catfishers come up with all kinds of excuses not to meet up.
The show "Catfish" exposes the catfish, sometimes by ambush (it's a good show).
Have you ever been catfished? I never have, fortunately; it seems like relationships predicated on lies have been around since time immemorial but the web is a whole new tool for trickery.

-Teresa

I've never seen it but somebody at work has told me about it.

I got scammed by a Russian 2 years ago. Lost some money. I am sure everything I got told about the person was fake, the photo's, her job, her life, where she lived etc.

Oldyoung · Sep 22, 2015

No. I might have encountered the odd impersonator every once in a while, but never one I was in contact with for prolonged periods of time.

Then I never tried online dating, which is where you get exposed for this kind of thing I suppose.

LonesomeLoner · Sep 22, 2015

I used to pretend to be a lady on chatroulette a few years ago (before they prevented you from using photos)

I never took it too far and I always made it kinda obvious I was having a laugh, but still people fell for it.

I guess the lesson here is to be completely sure who you are talking to online, for safety too.

9006 · Sep 25, 2015

What is the point of this? Surely people don't just do this for something to do.

Paraiyar · Sep 25, 2015

9006 said:
What is the point of this? Surely people don't just do this for something to do.

$$$

BeyondShy · Sep 25, 2015

9006 said:
What is the point of this? Surely people don't just do this for something to do.

The point of this is to get something over on the other person.

There was a famous case a few years back when a mother took her daughter's identity and flirted with someone online. It ended badly. That's an example of catfishing.

9006 · Sep 25, 2015

BeyondShy said:
The point of this is to get something over on the other person.

There was a famous case a few years back when a mother took her daughter's identity and flirted with someone online. It ended badly. That's an example of catfishing.

I still cannot understand what the motivation is, to steal someone's identity.

For example fraudsters have the motivation of money, stalkers have the motivation of desire, what do these Catfishers fall under? Just seems a bit pointless to me.

user 115627 · Sep 25, 2015

A different kind of desire perhaps. Posing as someone else, they receive the attention and acknowledgement they cannot get as their normal selves.

Guess it can also be a variation of troll behavior, either for twisted fun or serious malice. Given that they reveal themselves to be fake at some point.

Solivagant · Sep 25, 2015

Rodent said:
Posing as someone else, they receive the attention and acknowledgement they cannot get as their normal selves.

^ Basically this, though obviously there can be other motives as well. On the whole, people who catfish are just deeply unhappy with themselves, insecure or repressed.

Azariah · Sep 25, 2015

No but I know someone close to me has. It's messed up.

Dandelion · Sep 25, 2015

BeyondShy said:
9006 said:

What is the point of this? Surely people don't just do this for something to do.

Click to expand...

The point of this is to get something over on the other person.

There was a famous case a few years back when a mother took her daughter's identity and flirted with someone online. It ended badly. That's an example of catfishing.

Ughh, that's disgusting! What a terrible mother!!!

Have You Ever Been Catfished?

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