Nowadays, catfishing is a term widely used on the social media. In general, people are aware of the existence of this kind of phenomenon, however the question that often arises is to what extent social media users understand the term of ‘catfishing’ and have the necessary knowledge to identify the signs of a potential digital abuse.

1. Catfishing: one out of ten
profiles on certain social media
channels and dating sites are
fake
Nowadays, catfishing is a term widely used on social media. In general,
people are aware of the existence of this kind of phenomenon, however
the question that often arises is to what extent social media users
understand the term ‘catfishing’ and have the necessary knowledge to
identify the signs of a potential digital abuse.
An Oxford academic publication defines ‘catfishing’ as a deceptive
activity in which a person creates a fictional character or has a fake
identity, usually targeting a specific victim[1]. Catfishing is a form of
cyberbullying where the target is harmed through manipulative tactics

2. such as luring into relationships. “Catfishers” frequently target those who
have stated a desire for a romantic relationship, whether in person or
online. Catfishing becomes cyberbullying when these weaknesses are
exploited.
The term is used under the umbrella of online impersonation, and it is
mostly associated with online dating. It became more popular between
2010 and 2013, through a reality television series aired by MTV named
“Catfish: The Show”, in which the participants were assessing their
cases related to lies on online dating and how they fell prey for internet
scams. At the same time, around 2013, the term gained popularity
through the case involving Manti Te’o, football star of Notre Dame
University. The football star was exchanging Twitter messages with
‘Lennay Kekua’, until he was told that she dies. The story has been
described as inspirational, until it came out as a hoax, as the girl never
existed in the first place.[2]
Social media is considered to be the easiest generator of fake profiles.
Reports have stated that one out of ten profiles on a certain social media
and dating sites are fake. At the same time, as recently as 2013, Twitter
has admitted that 5% of all accounts are fake, which reported to a such
large-scale social media platform represents millions of fake accounts[3],
while Facebook, the world’s most popular social network with over one
billion Monthly Active Users, has stated in its 2015 report that the
platform has identified over fifty million duplicate accounts[4]. The FBI
has even issued formal warnings throughout the pandemic about the
possibility of running into catfish or other types of romance scammers
online, claiming that between 2019 and 2020, alone, there was a 22%
increase in reports about these scams.[5]

3. The fake profiles created through ‘catfishing’ are harmful not only for the
person who interacts with the profile, as in cases of cyberharassment
or cyberbullying, but also for the people whose pictures are used.
Usually, people create fake profiles and catfish for reasons such as:
insecurity, mental illness, revenge, harassment.[6]
In order to protect the cyber rights of each individual and to facilitate a
safer use of the digital space, it is necessary to lead the attention
towards several signs that indicate that you might be a victim of
catfishing:
1. The profile that connected with you does not have a reasonable
number of friends and followers on social media. Usually,
catfishing profiles are made to target a specific person, which is
why they might not invest time into gaining popularity for their
account.
2. The person refuses to call/video call. Most of the times, catfishers
will invent excuses such as being insecure of how they look,
travelling or having family visits, in order to avoid having a video
chat.
3. The person does not change their profile picture very often or at
all. The same profile photo may be used by a catfisher for several
years because they only have access to a limited number of fake
images of the person whose appearance they are stealing or use
AI platforms to create them.
4. The person avoids or refuses meeting up. Regardless of how open
the suggested meeting place is, a catfisher who lives nearby will
be simpler to recognize if they decline to meet up.

4. 5. The person does not have coherent narratives. As catfishers have
to build a fake identity, it is easy to get tangled into the narrative of
a story they are presenting.
6. The person might ask for money. Your suspicions are likely valid if
the alleged catfisher requests cash or a gift. Even if you’ve already
developed a romantic or professional relationship with them, it’s
best to decline their request, as they may lead to sextortion .