Facts Catphishing
Catphishing is when a person uses a false identity to get to know you on the internet with the goal of starting a fake emotional or romantic relationship with you.
The ulterior motive can be to cheat you out of money, or to humiliate you - by publishing your conversations, for example. Finding out if you’re being catphished is not easy. The relationship and trust is often built up during a long period of the catphish making an effort to get to know you and make you feel seen.
Warning signs
Warning signs can be:
- The person is too good to be true
- The person is unreasonably attractive
- The person appears out of nowhere
- The person would rather not communicate via video chats.
Often, the person will agree to meet, online or offline, but cancels at the last minute because of some kind of crisis. Catphishing can be a crime. Depending on what type of relationship you have had, it can have different titles. For example, it could be harassment or fraud.
Advice Gather digital evidence
Document and save everything that can be used to investigate what has happened.
Advice You are not alone, get support!
Get help from the people around you. You do not have to be alone in this. Cyber hate falls within the responsibility of the employer, school, association or organization.
Advice Your financial information has leaked
If you suspect your information has leaked: block the card in question, check your bank statements, collect digital evidence, and contact the card issuer.
Advice Sexual harassment and sexual abuse, find support and help
Being the victim of abuse is never your fault. You can never have said, hinted at, or shown yourself in any way that gives another person the right to abuse you. Even if you are in a relationship with the person or you know them, it is still a crime and you have the right to protection and help.
Advice Stalking, always report to the police!
Always report to the police. With enough evidence, you can be eligible for protective measures, like a restraining order.
Advice Remove your information on the internet
Advice Take your mental health seriously
Put your mental health first. Sometimes, it can be important to take a break from social media accounts. Let someone else take care of or clear out your social media.
Catphish use real people’s pictures and identities
Many people have reported that their pictures and names have been used to deceive and catphish others, often on platforms like Tinder or Facebook. Report this to the people in charge of the website. If you see a friend on a social platform but you aren’t sure if it is them, contact the friend right away.
If you are worried that your pictures are being used for catphishing, do a reverse image search on Google. This is a service that Google has to look for images on the internet.
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