CATFISHING INVESTIGATIONS

​

In nearly all cases, one partner in the relationship has been “catfished:” fed a false story, false identity, and false photos by someone that he or she met online. Sometimes, the so-called “catfish” has genuine feelings, but uses a fake identity out of fear of rejection. Other times, the catfish is malicious and self-interested, carelessly using the victim for personal gain.

If the latter is the case, many people who fear that they’re being deceived will turn to a private investigator to uncover the truth.But what is really meant by catfish?

Catfish are running wild on the internet. Private Investigations into these scammers may be what you need. You may have seen recent television shows and documentaries such as MTV‘s “Catfish: The TV Show“, involving these romance scammers. For those who have not, an Internet Catfish or online dating scammer could be defined as a person who pretends to be someone they are not, using social media sites, such as Facebook, to create false identities. These people most often create these identities to pursue deceptive or false online romances.

It is most desirable if you have knowledge on what may be a catfish and avoid it before you fall prey to them. Here are some signs of a catfish:

Common Warning Signs of an Internet Catfish or Online Dating Scammer:

• No Webcam:  An Internet Catfish will often claim to not have webcam capabilities, whether it be that they claim their webcam is broken, or they simply do not own one.  The excuses for this claim will vary.  It should be known that most computers, today, have a webcam built into the monitor.

• Few or No Pictures:  An Internet Catfish will sometimes refuse to send pictures or allow you to view pictures of them.  But, this is not common.  An Internet Catfish will generally send a false picture of someone they know, or simply taken from the internet.  If you are able to view photos of your supposed online friend, on a social media site, such as Facebook, you may want to see if the photos have other people in the photos, who are tagged.  An Internet Catfish will, generally, not have any “real friends” to tag.

• Refuses to Send Current Photo:  We all know that everyone and their brother has a camera built into their phone.  Taking and sending a quick photo is one of the easiest things to do, in this generation.  If you have viewed photos of your supposed online friend, but they refuse to send current or dated photos, you may be dealing with a Catfish.

• Professional Profile Photos: Professional looking profile photos are often a red flag, if you are looking at a profile that is not of a famous person or fan page.  This most often means that the photo was simply copied from the internet and used to create the fake profile.

• Exciting Careers:  The claims of modeling or militaristic overseas work are very common in the Internet Catfish world.  Modeling is the perfect setup for artistic and professional photos they may send you.  Being overseas is the perfect setup to be unable to meet.  It may also be a setup to claim that they are constantly traveling.  The claim of a modeling career may also keep you interested in them.

• Constant Traveling:  This gives the Internet Catfish two points.  The first being that they are able to give you hope that the chance to eventually meet is pretty good.  On the other hand, they will be able to use it as an excuse when they are unable to meet.

• Unable to Meet:  The Internet Catfish will often begin to make plans to meet with you, but later back out, using a wide range of excuses.  They will often use traumatic events and illnesses, whether it be them or a family member, to back out of the meet.

• The Use of a Virtual Phone Number (Google, Yahoo, etc.):  An Internet Catfish will sometimes take steps to remain hidden or untraceable by creating a virtual phone number.  Google is a common provider of these numbers.