While online dating offers exciting opportunities to meet new people and find love, it is important to be aware of the risks involved. A study recently conducted by Pew Research in the US shows that 63% of men under the age of 50, 47% of men ages 50 plus, and 44% women of all ages, using dating sites or apps, have encountered catfishers or scammers. Catphishing involves individuals creating fake identities used to emotionally manipulate, deceive and scam innocent people for personal gain.

To illustrate our point, we’re going to tell you a story about Sarah and Bill; two individuals who meet on a dating app. Things are going well until Sarah asks Bill to meet her in person. 

Sarah’s over all the men in her life and decides she wants to explore dating apps to see what’s out there. Enter Bill. A few conversations in and you can see sparks flying. Soon enough Sarah starts to develop deep feelings for this unseen Prince Charming. Bill says all the right things and she’s hooked. Days turn into weeks and now Sarah believes she’s ready to meet Bill in person. But Bill keeps avoiding that conversation, becoming a neverending excuse factory.

Tired and irritated, Sarah decides she needs to know more about this keyboard charmer. She takes to social media and starts digging for information. A few minutes into her search, Sarah discovers that 'Bill' is actually her creepy 40-year-old neighbor, Parker. She had rebuffed his advances at the neighborhood BBQ earlier in the year. In response, Parker figured maybe he could impersonate someone else online to continue talking to her. A real catfisher, this guy. Heartbroken, Sarah swears off of all dating apps! 

Now that we know what catfishing is, let's take this a step further and explore what catphishing is.

Ever heard of the Tinder Swindler? If you haven’t, here's a brief preview. In this true-crime show, a group of women who became victims of a dating app-based swindler joined together in an attempt to hunt the catphisher down and recover the millions of dollars that were stolen from them.

It helps to know the types of catphishers you're most likely to encounter online:

Catphishing is also illegal in many countries. One overzealous NBA fan had to find this out the hard way, posing as a teenager first and then as the teenager’s mom while asking star Chris Anderson for “hush money.” The incident nearly ended the NBA star's career.

These scams happen due to several reasons. Tap the cards below for more information:

A survey of 2,000 people across the UK uncovered some common cybersecurity habits. These habits looked into the respondents' attitudes regarding online dating and safety.

Catphishing scams are sophisticated. Catphishers make you feel good… until you say no.

The good news is, you don’t need to be an expert to (excuse the pun) fish them out. Here are a few tell-tale signs that can help you identify if you are being catphished:

If you want to avoid getting tangled up in romance scams altogether, this helpful little primer can help:

If you feel that the law needs to get involved, you may consider contacting local law enforcement authorities and cybercrime bodies. In the US, you can contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center for catphishing attempts.

Just like a cat stalking its unsuspecting prey, catphishers sneak into our lives, masquerading as friendly connections or tempting opportunities. Just remember as a rule of thumb: If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

Catphishing is most prevalent on online dating sites, with attackers relying on social engineering ploys to exploit people looking for new romantic relationships. With the help of a few tips, anyone can learn to identify troublemakers online.

It is time we learn to steer clear of online romance scams.

Need to separate the genuine article from the con artists on online dating websites? We’ve created a checklist to help you distinguish between the two: