{{Short description|Deceptive online social network presence}} {{Distinguish|Catfisting}} {{About|the online deception activity|manipulation of a cat toy on a string|Cat play and toys#Defining cat play}} '''Catfishing''' refers to the creation of a fictitious online persona, or fake identity (typically on social networking platforms), with the intent of deception,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chandler |first1=Daniel |title=A Dictionary of Social Media |last2=Rod Munday |date=March 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-180309-3 |edition=First |location=Oxford |oclc=952388585}}</ref> usually to mislead a victim into an online romantic relationship or to obtain some illegal financial gain through fraud, such as the pig butchering scam, or through sextortion. The motivation for catfishing may also be just the desire to feel more popular or to experiment with sexual preferences.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-25 |title=What Is Catfishing Online? Signs And How To Tell|url=https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/catfishing |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=www.fortinet.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=D'Costa |first=Krystal |title=Catfishing: The Truth About Deception Online |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/catfishing-the-truth-about-deception-online/ |access-date=2024-01-07 |work=Scientific American Blog Network |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-16 |title=I-Team: New data shows more young people are getting catfished - CBS Texas |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/younger-people-getting-catfished/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Perpetrators, usually referred to as catfish, generally use fake photos and lie about their personal lives to present themselves as more attractive for financial gain, personal satisfaction, evasion of legal consequences, or to troll. They often love bomb the victim,<ref name=":1" /> but refuse to have video call or talk on the phone so that they cannot be verified,<ref name=catfishnovideo1/> their IP address does not match the city of their supposed location, refuse or repeatedly postpone meeting in person, have inconsistencies with name, pictures, or information appearing on their profiles, or request money<ref name="ageuk.org.uk"/> while isolating victims from real-life social circles by insisting the relationship remain a secret.<ref name="ageuk.org.uk" /> Public awareness surrounding catfishing has increased in recent years, partially attributed to an increase in the occurrence of the practice combined with a number of high-profile instances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-25 |title=Where is Manti Te'o, NFL star and subject of Netflix's Untold, now? |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3190151/where-manti-teo-now-nfl-star-was-famously-catfished-while |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=5 Celebrities Who Have Been Catfished |url=https://www.mtv.co.uk/news/jgr5px/5-celebrities-who-have-been-catfished |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=MTV |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2022-08-23 |title=Danielle Fishel Reveals She Was Catfished by Adult Man When She Was 12 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/08/danielle-fishel-catfish-stalker-12-years-old-pen-pal-boy-meets-world-pod-meets-world |access-date=2023-12-22 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Corporate catfishing ==
Some forms of catfishing are not carried out by a single individual acting alone, but through organised or commercial operations<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reconsequence.com/corporate-catfishing/|title=Corporate Catfishing|date=May 31, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reconsequence.com/the-corporate-octopus/|title=The Corporate Octopus|date=May 24, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reconsequence.com/the-onion/|title=The Volkov Onion|date=May 25, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reconsequence.com/the-king-of-corporate-catfish/|title=The King of Corporate Catfish.|date=May 23, 2026}}</ref>. Researchers have described the "cyber-industrialization" of catfishing and romance fraud, in which online deception is scaled through paid workers, scripts, customer-management tools, fake or managed personas, and other business-like infrastructure.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wang |first=Fangzhou |title=The Cyber-Industrialization of Catfishing and Romance Fraud |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |year=2024}}</ref> In these cases, the deception may resemble a customer-service or sales operation rather than a one-to-one impersonation.
Commercialised forms of catfishing may involve fake or misleading dating profiles, paid chat operators, translation or messaging intermediaries, scripted romantic engagement, or platform designs that charge users for messages, video chats, gifts, or other interactions. Consumer-protection agencies warn that romance scammers commonly use fake profiles on dating sites, apps, and social media to build trust before requesting money or other financial benefits.<ref>{{cite web |title=What To Know About Romance Scams |publisher=Federal Trade Commission |url=https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams |access-date=27 May 2026}}</ref>
==Etymology== The term was introduced with the release of the 2010 American documentary film ''Catfish,'' following executive producer Nev Schulman, himself a victim of catfishing. Schulman had developed an online friendship with a 40-year-old housewife mainly presenting herself as an 18-year-old girl from the Midwestern United States. In the documentary, the woman's husband compares her behavior to that of a catfish being shipped with live cod.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Kashmir |title=The Manti Te'o Hoax Means Everyone Now Knows What A 'Catfish' Is |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/01/22/the-manti-teo-hoax-means-everyone-now-knows-what-a-catfish-is/ |date=2013-01-22 |access-date=2024-10-20 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124084947/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/01/22/the-manti-teo-hoax-means-everyone-now-knows-what-a-catfish-is/ |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
This urban legend originated from ''Essays in Rebellion'' (1913) by Henry Nevinson and ''The Catfish'' (1913) by Charles Marriott<ref name="boston-globe" /> and refers to the practice of placing a catfish in a tank full of cod for the purposes of shipping. The impostor, or catfish, is said to prevent the cod from becoming pale and lethargic, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality product.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Ellen |title=What is catfishing? A brief (and sordid) history. |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/01/09/what-is-catfishing-a-brief-and-sordid-history/ |access-date=2020-11-11 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="slate">{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Aisha |date=January 18, 2013 |title=Catfish meaning and definition: term for online hoaxes has a surprisingly long history |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/01/18/catfish_meaning_and_definition_term_for_online_hoaxes_has_a_surprisingly.html |access-date=2015-09-23 |website=Slate}}</ref><ref name="starcasm">{{Cite web |date=November 26, 2012 |title=Why is MTV's 'Catfish' TV show called Catfish? |url=http://starcasm.net/archives/184454 |access-date=2015-09-23 |website=starcasm.net}}</ref> ''Catfish: The TV Show'', airing on MTV since 2012, follows Schulman as he helps others investigate possible catfish situations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Denise |title=Here's How MTV's Catfish Actually Works |url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/catfish-mtv-casting-production-process.html |access-date=6 April 2018 |work=Vulture|date=21 May 2014 }}</ref>
The term spiked in popularity in 2013 after University of Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o was publicly catfished.<ref name="boston-globe">{{Cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Ben |date=January 27, 2013 |title=Catfish: How Manti Te'o's imaginary romance got its name |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/01/27/catfish-how-manti-imaginary-romance-got-its-name/inqu9zV8RQ7j19BRGQkH7H/story.html |access-date=2015-09-23}}</ref><ref name="slate" /> The 2013 court case ''Zimmerman v. Board of Trustees of Ball State University'' saw the first legal use of the term catfishing, with the judge using the Urban Dictionary definition.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Lauren Reichart |last2=Smith |first2=Kenny D. |last3=Blazka |first3=Matthew |date=31 January 2017 |title=Follow Me, What's the Harm? Considerations of Catfishing and Utilizing Fake Online Personas on Social Media |journal=Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=36 |doi=10.1123/jlas.2016-0020|doi-access=free }}</ref>
Catfish was added to the eleventh edition of the ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Merriam-Webster's New Words for 2014 |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/new-words/2014-update.htm |website=Merriam-Webster Online |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520032414/http://www.merriam-webster.com/new-words/2014-update.htm |archive-date=20 May 2014 |date=May 19, 2014}}</ref> An associate editor at Merriam-Webster noted that the word was "such a sensation from the moment that it came on the scene," attributing its popularity to both Schulman's documentary and the Manti Te'o story.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cosman |first1=Ben |title=Merriam-Webster Tells Us Why 'Catfish' and 'Yooper' Just Entered the Dictionary Together |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2014/05/merriam-webster-tells-us-why-catfish-and-yooper-just-entered-the-dictionary-together/371175/ |website=The Wire |publisher=The Atlantic |access-date=3 January 2024 |language=en |date=19 May 2014}}</ref>
== Practice and sociology == Catfishing is often employed on dating websites, social media, and email<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Australian Competition and Consumer Commission |date=2015-05-14 |title=Dating & romance |url=https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/dating-romance |access-date=2020-11-11 |website=Scamwatch |language=en}}</ref> by perpetrators to disassociate from their real-life identities and shield themselves from moral obligations or responsibilities. Motivations for catfishing are typically malevolent and may include sexual, financial, or social gain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vanman |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Vanman |date=25 July 2018 |title=It's not about money: we asked catfish why they trick people online |url=https://theconversation.com/its-not-about-money-we-asked-catfish-why-they-trick-people-online-100381 |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> The practice is often attributed to the online disinhibition effect.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Psychology of Cyberspace – Home Page/Table of Contents |url=http://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/psycyber.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619044045/http://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/psycyber.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 19, 2013 |access-date=2020-11-25 |website=truecenterpublishing.com}}</ref> Typically, the catfish uses someone else's photos and personal details to make themselves appear genuine, while the individual whose identity is being exploited is unaware that their information is being used.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lohmann |first=Raychelle |title=The Two-Sided Face of Teen Catfishing |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/teen-angst/201304/the-two-sided-face-teen-catfishing |access-date=6 April 2018 |publisher=Psychology Today}}</ref>
In certain cases, catfishing is used as a means for individuals to explore and express their gender and sexual identity, particularly in online environments conducive to anonymity. Commonly, perpetrators will portray themselves as the opposite gender on social media and dating apps to interact with unsuspecting individuals.<ref name="Lexington Books">{{Cite book |last1=Slade |first1=Alison F. |title=Reality Television: Oddities of Culture |last2=Narro |first2=Amber J. |last3=Buchanan |first3=Burton P. |date=2014 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-8564-3 |pages=237–244 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>
Perpetrators of catfishing are often seeking financial gain. In 2015, three girls managed to steal $3,300 from the Islamic State after being approached by a recruitment officer to join the terrorist organization. After receiving money for supposed travel to Syria, the girls deleted their account and kept the money for personal travel.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-07-30 |title=Young women 'catfished' ISIS out of $3,300. Will they be punished? |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2015/0730/Young-women-catfished-ISIS-out-of-3-300.-Will-they-be-punished |access-date=2021-11-03 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref>
Catfishing has also been used as a tactic to stop criminal activity. In 2004, ''Dateline NBC'' produced the segment ''To Catch a Predator'', documenting undercover officers using fake online profiles to lure potential sexual predators into spaces where meetings with supposed minors had been arranged.<ref>{{Cite web |title="To Catch A Predator" - Chris Hansen - NBC Dateline · Undercover Reporting |url=https://undercover.hosting.nyu.edu/s/undercover-reporting/item-set/50?sort_by=numeric:timestamp:7&sort_order=asc |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=undercover.hosting.nyu.edu}}</ref>
Catfishing can also be used as a tactic to cyberbully, troll, or attack individuals online while working under a false identity, making the harassment difficult to trace.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Olckers |first1=Christine |last2=Hattingh |first2=Marie |date=2022 |title=The Dark Side of Social Media - Cyberbullying, Catfishing and Trolling: A Systematic Literature Review |language=en |pages=86–71 |doi=10.29007/qhl5 |issn=2398-7340 |doi-access=free |book-title=Proceedings of the Society 5.0 Conference 2022 - Integrating Digital World and Real World to Resolve Challenges in Business and Society|hdl=2263/91093 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
==Signs== While catfishing can take many forms, some common behaviors and characteristics have been defined:{{by whom|date=August 2025}}
*Refusal to video chat or talk on the phone.<ref name=catfishnovideo1>{{Cite web |last=Corcione |first=Adryan |date=2017-09-17 |title=Catfished Meaning: 14 Signs You're Getting Catfished Online |url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/signs-youre-being-catfished |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Teen Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref> *When using peer-to-peer chat or video chat, their IP address does not match the city or state of their supposed location. *Refuses or repeatedly postpones meeting in person, often at the last minute with increasingly elaborate, contradictory, or impossible excuses (e.g. attending a concert that doesn't exist, or are quarantined with a non contagious disease). *Follow requests and/or messages from unknown persons, sometimes impersonating a celebrity, often marked by low follower count and lack of account verification.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} *Inconsistencies with names, pictures, or information appearing on profiles that ostensibly belong to the same individual.<ref name=":1" /> *Photo backgrounds are inconsistent with their supposed locations. *Love bombing.<ref name=":1" /> *Requesting money, usually justified with a backstory and/or promise of repayment.<ref name="ageuk.org.uk">{{Cite web |title=How to spot a catfish – catfish meaning and advice |url=https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/scams-fraud/how-to-spot-a-catfish/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Age UK |language=en-GB}}</ref> *Isolation of victim from real-life social circles and/or insisting the relationship remain a secret.<ref name="ageuk.org.uk" />
==Dangers== Catfishing can lead to serious potential dangers. In some cases, catfish have lured victims into threatening in-person meetings, such as in the 2002 murder of Kacie Woody and the 2007 murder of Carly Ryan. Sexual predators utilize catfishing to gain the trust of minors and/or other vulnerable people to acquire sensitive information and illicit photographs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lohmann |first=Raychelle |title=The Two-Sided Face 67 of Teen Catfishing |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201304/the-two-sided-face-teen-catfishing |access-date=29 March 2018 |publisher=Psychology Today}}</ref> Catfishing has also been linked to a number of suicides, such as the 2006 suicide of Megan Meier.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patchin |first=Justin W. |date=2013-02-07 |title=Catfishing as a Form of Cyberbullying |url=https://cyberbullying.org/catfishing-as-a-form-of-cyberbullying |access-date=29 March 2018 |publisher=Cyberbullying Research Center}}</ref>
==Chatfishing== {{main|Chatfishing}} Chatfishing is the use of synthetic texts, often output from generative artificial intelligence, to drive interaction online, especially on dating apps.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Alexandra |title='I realised I'd been ChatGPT-ed into bed': how 'Chatfishing' made finding love on dating apps even weirder |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/oct/12/chatgpt-ed-into-bed-chatfishing-on-dating-apps |access-date=15 October 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=12 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkins |first1=Joe |title=ChatGPT Is Giving Men Such Bad Advice on Dating That It May Actually Be Trying to Keep Them Single |url=https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/chatgpt-relationship-advice-chatfish |access-date=15 October 2025 |work=Futurism |date=14 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Manta |first1=Irina |title=More on "Chatfishing" on Dating Apps and in Texting |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2025/10/14/more-on-chatfishing-on-dating-apps-and-in-texting/?nab=0 |work=Reason.com |date=14 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='It's revolting': More Young Republican chat members out of jobs as condemnation intensifies |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/its-revolting-more-young-republican-chat-members-out-of-jobs-as-condemnation-intensifies-00608791 |access-date=15 October 2025 |work=POLITICO |date=14 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chat-fishing: When online banter turns into real-life awkwardness |url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/02/chat-fishing-when-online-banter-turns-into-real-life-awkwardness-17868115/ |access-date=15 October 2025 |work=Metro |date=2 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * {{annotated link|Romance scam}} * {{annotated link|Career catfishing}} * {{annotated link|Gaslighting}} * {{annotated link|Honey trapping}} * {{annotated link|Phishing}} * {{annotated link|Sadfishing}} * {{annotated link|Sock puppet account}} * {{annotated link|Trojan horse (computing)}} * {{annotated link|Twinking}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{wiktionary-inline}}
{{scams and confidence tricks}}
Category:Deception Category:Internet fraud Category:Social networks Category:Cyberstalking Category:Online child abuse Category:Online dating