Avoid Catfishing Online

Catfishing. DON'T TAKE ------------ "THE BAIT!" Catfish (noun cat-fish \-fish\) A person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes POSSIBLE MOTIVATIONS: revenge loneliness curiosity boredom The term catfishing was inspired by the 2010 documentary "Catfish." Who are the catfishers? Catfishing is a fairly new phenomenon, but a few studies give clues into the psychology of the catfisher. Likely to be compulsive liars May have a history of abuse or being abused May feel unloved or unaccepted Many have low self-esteem Addicted to Some may desire to hurt others false persona and fantasy One Australian study shows women are 50% MORE LIKELY TO GIVE FALSE INFORMATION about themselves online than men. Most SEXUAL PREDATORS are between the ages of Catfishers are most likely to be fishing on: 11-55 Dating sites Social meeting sites Chat/IM apps Social media sites Over the last decade in the US: How big is the catch? Then Now Know someone 11 who has dated online 42% 10% Know someone who has met their 15% 29% 6% 3% partner online Agree that online dating is a good way In the last decade, online 44% 59% dating has gone up from 3% to 6% to meet someone Believe it means 29% you're desperate 21% With online dating comes catfishing: One study shows that out of every 10 dating profiles are fake More often hackers than catfishers Of those using dating sites 54% "Others have used false information" believe that 28% "Uncomfortable or harassed by another online dater" have felt How to avoid the bait Do they seem too good be to true? .they probably are Look out for those who claim to have glamorous professions Be cautious if a random hottie starts communication with you online Check their Facebook account Do they have fewer than 100 friends? Is anyone tagged in their group photos? Watch out for trauma drama Watch out for the hook No pics or webcam? Many catfish have dramatic reasons for not meeting in person They may keep you on the hook with the promise of meeting later We all have easy access to cameras and webcams today • Serious injuries • Serious illnesses It's very difficult to get them to They say they don't have a webcam Red send you a pic flag Red flag Background noise Catfish are generally very careful when communicating Be careful if you never hear other people in the background with you The biggest fish There are a few catfishing stories that have caught the attention of the public Chechen women ISIS contacted them via social media, to join their group The women took this opportunity to catfish ISIS for money ISIS believed they would use the funds to travel to Syria The women also sent photos just to keep them on the hook After receiving the money, the ladies closed down their social media accounts About $3,300 was sent to the three women Megan Meier "Josh Evans was catfished by neighbor, Lori wanted to know what Megan was saying about her daughter behind her back So Lori created a fake profile by the name of "Josh Evans" Lori Drew 2 Megan thought she was in a relationship with a man named Josh Evans Lori Drew's daughter was Megan's friend 3 After one month, "Josh" tells Megan he doesn't want to know her any more 4 Megan's Myspace page is filled with insults from Josh 5 Megan attempts to hang herself and dies the next day Nev Schulman Nev was catfished by a "beautiful young woman" in 2010 1 Her voice and Facebook profile were perfect - and false Popularized the term "Catfishing" 2 Turns out the "young woman"(Megan Wesselman) was the daughter of the catfisher (Angela Wesselman) CC BY-SA. Angela Wesselman ".I thank god for the catfish Used daughter, Megan's, picture to lure Nev because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin," After the truth was revealed, Nev created a documentary about the relationship 4 Wesselman's husband is the one who coined the term "Catfish" Now Nev hosts an MTV show called "Catfish" He helps others discover the true identity of their online romances Sources: drphil.com/articles/article/720 DEVELOPED BY cyberbullyhotline.com/catfishing.html FreeDating.co.uk N NOWSOURCING merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catfish venturebeat.com/2012/10/30/online-dating-scam nobullying.com/what-is-catfishing-a-cyber-safety-alert puresight.com/Pedophiles/Online-Predators/online-predators-statistics.html psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201304/the-two-sided-face-teen-catfishing kishhealth.tncmtrueconnect.com/issues/2013/may-2013/the-psychology-of-catfishing.aspx blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/catfishing-the-truth-about-deception-online news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/women-lie-more-than-men-on-social-media/story-fnu2q5nu-1227472416828 dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264053/Catfishing-The-phenomenon-Internet-scammers-fabricate-online-identities-entire-social-circles-trick-people-romantic-relationships.html 2.0 by Lady Lotus