Q&A for How to Spot a Catfish

People who are catfishing might try asking for inappropriate pictures or ask for personal information early on when you start talking.

Just be honest with the person, without being mean. Then break off contact on all social media.

The data you present suggests she is. Would a rich woman from a wealthy family need to rely on dating websites, especially a specific one to which she attempts to lure men? Most women sincere about dating also wouldn't reveal their assets or the fact they're from a wealthy family online, because it would be unsafe and likely to draw scammers. And even if it is authentic, would you want to date someone this materialistic?

If you haven't image searched the picture of her in uniform, you should do that now, as it's the best tool for spotting a catfish. Verify that last name above the shirt pocket on the uniform matches hers so you can determine whether she's the woman in the picture. It's very suspicious the woman you met has no social media and is always deployed, yet has the time to talk to you. While none of this is conclusive proof that she's a catfish, signs point to her being so.

If they're on social media, there are a few things you can do to try to figure out if someone is a catfish. Go to the Google home page and click on “images” in the top right corner. Then, click on the camera icon to search by image. From there, you can enter the URL for the picture or upload a copy of the photo of the person from their profile to see if they pulled it from the internet. You can also look to see if they have photos with their friends. Because most people use social media to talk about what’s going on in their lives, a real person would have pictures of them hanging out with friends and family. If they don't it could be a sign that they're a catfish. Also, catfish usually won't have any tagged photos because their account isn't real. If their friends aren’t tagging them, they may not be who they’re saying they are.

There are a few things you can do. The simplest is to match their Tinder profile to a social media profile. When you meet someone on a dating site, search for their name or image online to see if you can find their other profiles. Compare the information you find online to what they’re telling you through the dating app to see if it lines up. If it doesn't, they could be lying about who they are. Additionally, a catfish won’t have many followers on social media since they aren’t who they say they are. So if you do find a social media profile, take a look through it to see if it looks legit. If they have fewer than 100 followers, they may be a catfish. However, it’s possible that they’re just really protective of their privacy, so don’t draw a conclusion based only on this.

Keep an eye out for red flags. A catfish may send the same messages to different people, trying to get a bite. Check to see if their messages seem really basic or have a lot of grammatical or spelling errors. It could be a sign that they don't speak your language or aren't being honest about who they are. Also, watch out for people asking you for money. A person who is genuinely interested in you shouldn’t start asking you for money, especially not right away. But a catfish will ask for money as soon as they think you’re willing to send it. Don't fall for it, even if they say it's for something that might help you. Also, if you notice they're giving you inconsistent info, call them out on it. It's possible they made an innocent mistake, but if it seems like they're being dishonest with you, it could be a sign that they're a catfish.

If you know who the person is, you can try to find and message them on Facebook or other social media. If you don't know who they are, you might be able to do a Google Reverse Image Search using the profile photo to see if it is stolen from their social media profile.

Possibly to make it look like they are interested in meeting up with you at your house. However, you should definitely not give them your address.

This person might be, but then again might not. It is quite hard to tell. Pay attention to the way how he talks. If he urgently is trying to stay close to you, he is probably a scammer.

Rather most likely. Ask where he lives (country based) and then observe how the person talks.

Observe his language. Also, for his pictures, take a screenshot/download them. Then search them up via Google Search to see if they're originals or he is using pictures from other places.