It’s easy for some of the smartest people to lose all sight of common
sense when they’re being reeled in by a catfish: an online imposter who
tries to win your sympathy — and your love — by creating an elaborate
scheme. Award-winning technology reporter Kurt Knutsson, known around
the country as Kurt the CyberGuy, shares his top ten reality checks to
see if you’re being baited by a catfish.
If you identify with at least two of the below scenarios, Knutsson says you could be falling prey to a scam artist.
1. Dumb Date Data
Physical descriptions need to be proportional. For example, someone
who is 6-feet tall usually does not weigh 90 lbs. Look for any other
descriptions that don’t add up to the profile photo.
Tip: Ask them to take a photo holding a unique phrase or their
own name on it and send it to you. Ask to have a live video talk using
Skype or Facetime. Most of today’s smartphones, tablets and laptops come
equipped with a built-in camera and/or video. Someone reluctant to
speak on live video, claiming shyness or that they can’t find a camera,
should be a red flag.
2. Profile Picture Test
Professional photos are a red flag. Look for amateur photos — and more than one.
Tip: Use a
Google Goggles
search on your phone to see if the photo they’ve shared with you can be
spotted elsewhere online. If you see it shown with a watermark or in
other settings like modeling websites, it’s likely a fake.
3. Become a Photo Detective
“This just takes it to the next level,” Knutsson says.
Look for detail in photos — wedding rings, locations, activities, time
of day, how they are dressed — to see if it matches. Someone claiming
that a photo is from a July 4th fireworks party, who is dressed in a fur
coat, in daylight, might be a dead giveaway that someone is lying.
Tip: Using a
free inspection service that shows the location and time that a photo was originally taken can shed light on a photo liar.
4. Cut and Paste Profile Alert
Introductory letters on dating websites are often copied by catfish
scammers. See if the same information appears in other places or has
been copied from someone else by searching for it online. Out-of-country
scams often slip up here, revealing inconsistent information such as
landmarks and cultural events that don’t add up. For example, someone
claiming to be from St. Louis who isn’t familiar with the iconic Gateway
Arch when questioned is likely a liar.
5. Spelling and Grammar Fail
Hear the words when you read their writing, and check their spelling and
grammar. A line that sounds like it could be from someone in a far-off
country but portraying themselves to be in your same city will usually
have a local dialect misfire.
Real: “I just love the Macy’s Day Parade in the city.”
Foreign Faker: “I just love the Masey’s Daytime Parades in the cities.”
6. Derailing You from the Dating Site
Red flags should be raised if, right off the bat, they want to get you
to instant message or email, taking you off of the dating site where you
originally met.
Tip: Always create and use a unique email address that is
different than your personal and professional addresses when setting up a
dating website profile.
7. Too Serious, Too Soon
Watch out for someone rushing things. A catfish usually makes the first
move, often out of left field and sometimes creates a bogus, dreamy
profile that sounds like the ideal mate you’ve described in your
own dating desires. They play on your sympathy and strike when you are
the most vulnerable — caught up in the romance and emotional.
8. Ask a Lot of Questions
Inquire about where they are from, and verify landmarks and spellings of
cities online. Blatant errors could mean it’s a scam. Catfishers like
to ask you a lot of questions, but seldom let you go deep into their
lives, coming up with excuses about why they are reluctant to offer more
personal information
about themselves. For example, they might say, “I’ve been hurt before by
telling too much too soon,” which actually turns the tables on you to
prove that you can be trusted — Red flag!
9. You Are Not an ATM Machine
If they ask for money, lock them out of your life. Shut off
communication immediately, and close all open doors if you have a hint
that it is a sympathy scam. Although most catfishers are not after
money, this one should be a wake-up call to a scam.
10. Facebook Fakers
At this point, if someone has no Facebook page, but they are sophisticated enough to create an online dating profile, be warned.
Also look out for potential fake Facebook pages.
Signs of a fake Facebook profile can include the fact that the
Facebook page was started near the same time that a dating profile
elsewhere was established, if few photos are posted, or if there are no
people tagged in their photos to show a connection in a relationship.
If they are on Twitter, read through historic tweets to see if the
story they tell matches up to the same the person you are prospectively
dating. Like Facebook, Twitter accounts created around the
same time as dating profiles should be treated with caution