LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Just read a threat about this and didn't want to go all OT. Why do people catfish? I don't understand the end game. Just to waste someone's time? I wonder how many I have talked too. Is there good ways to spot them? They talk and talk but never want to meet. I mean I just stop talking to them by post 4. I ask them out, if they ignore/say no with some excuse like "I'm not ready yet", then I drop them. 1
smackie9 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 That isn't catfishing. Catfishing is when a guy pretends to be a woman and leads guys on using false identity and photos of real hot chicks to lure them in. 2
Author LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 Oh, it is specifically a dude doing it.. but why??
SammySammy Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 I think any form of trolling is done for two main reasons: 1) Entertainment and 2) some folks are just mean and cruel. 2
smackie9 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Perverted guys mostly....the control, the power they can have over people. In real life they probably are anti social sheps that can't get a life. Also cruel high school kids will cat fish some mousy girl thinking a real hot guy likes them and then requests topless pics, then splashes them all over the internet. So it can be a form of bullying. Some guys use it to blackmail girls into doing pornographic shots and vid, which it the latest thing. If the girl refuses, the photos get released to everyone on their FB account. It's a control perverse thing. And it's real hard to get these guys arrested because they are usually from another country.
smackie9 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Just read a threat about this and didn't want to go all OT. Why do people catfish? I don't understand the end game. Just to waste someone's time? I wonder how many I have talked too. Is there good ways to spot them? They talk and talk but never want to meet. I mean I just stop talking to them by post 4. I ask them out, if they ignore/say no with some excuse like "I'm not ready yet", then I drop them. Those people are probably cheaters, or are attention whores...some do it to have their ego stroked.
LateLastNight Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 To catfish: Is to pretend to be someone else. Regardless of gender. It could be a man/boy pretending to be a girl/boy or the other way around. It is just someone pretending to be someone else because they can't face being themselves for one reason or another. 7
katiegrl Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) That isn't catfishing. Catfishing is when a guy pretends to be a woman and leads guys on using false identity and photos of real hot chicks to lure them in. I dunno, there is a show called Catfish (movie too) about people (men and women) pretending to be someone else other than themselves. They find someone on the internet they find interesting and pretend to be that person. Why? Apparently they don't like themselves very much. Or they don't like their own looks, or whatever. Since they're lonely though and want love in their lives, what better way to get it other than via the internet where they never have to meet the person, and can pretend to be someone else! Someone more beautiful, someone more accomplished, more interesting (on paper) ....just more! Or better than they (the person catfishing) think they themselves to be. I dunno, I'm not a shrink....so this is just speculation. There is probably much more to it. Edited August 7, 2015 by katiegrl
carhill Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/close-encounters/201406/deception-and-honesty-mtvs-catfish In part: According to Katelyn McKenna (Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002; McKenna, Green, & Gleason, 2002), each of us has traits that we feel we possess, but are reluctant to express to others. These traits comprise the “true self.” These are not idealized traits that we wish we possessed, but rather they are traits that we feel are an important, but often hidden, aspect of our real identity. McKenna’s research shows that we have an easier time expressing the “true self” online. In a fascinating series of studies, John Bargh and colleagues (2002) asked undergraduate students to list traits describing their “true self” and “actual self” (traits they readily express in everyday interactions) and then chat with a stranger, either online or in person. After the chat, the students viewed a series of personality traits flashed on a screen, one at a time. As each trait appeared, they were asked to press a button, as a quickly as possible, to indicate “yes, this trait describes me” or “no, this trait does not describe me.” Mixed into the list of traits were the true and actual self traits the students had listed earlier in the study. The results showed that students were quicker to respond “yes” to their true self traits after an online than an in person meeting, but there was no difference in response time for actual self traits.
jen1447 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 I thought it was generally a con with the specific purpose of extorting the victim (generally of money) as the end game. 2
kendahke Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 (edited) That isn't catfishing. Catfishing is when a guy pretends to be a woman and leads guys on using false identity and photos of real hot chicks to lure them in. Actually it is part of their scheme along with what you mention above. That's how my catfish operated. My catfish used the photos of a graphics design professional in Moscow and machined a whole online identity using his pictures. I actually found 3 different profiles using the Russian's pictures. I found the real guy on Facebook and told him about it. We're FB friends now. That said, there are two types, but both are insidious. One is an emotional catfish, like you see on that show "Catfish". The others are pretty much a criminal organization operating out of internet cafes in Africa. They'll use the same profile for both male and female accounts. Their aim is to bleed you dry. They have absolutely no intention on meeting in person--they can't. They're behind a computer screen in Africa. The quickest way to find out if they're a catfish is to copy their profile and do a google search on it. The second way to spot them is their horrible use of English and the fact that they don't understand modial verbs. Ex: "...i will like to become more acquainted with you...i will like to be friends with you" compared to "I would like to become more acquainted with you because I'd like to be friends with you..." They usually say they're a Construction/Petroleum Engineer (and they write like that?), they've got one child and their wife was killed in a car accident. When I want to kill some time, I log into my OLD site and hunt catfish. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. Edited August 7, 2015 by kendahke 2
Author LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 Okay, I can see the emotional catfish. Lying about who you are, then finding someone, and making a connection, and then when it comes to meeting, you'd have to face your lie. I always think more about what Kendahke is saying. And yes, I agree, I can spot the fake accounts a mile away. "I like to travel very much" And yeah, subjunctive context is out the window, along with a lot of conjunctions. I always thought the end game had to be a scam, but what can they scam from you? I mean anything I send to someone I met from OKC, and in fact, mostly anyone in my life are things no one could black mail me with. They can't get my credit cards, they can't hack my email, my computer, or steal my identity.... what could they scam? Anyway, okay, I have never been aware of cat-fishing before, I just thought most of these fake accounts (the ones I've ran into) usually send you a link to a virus or a scam site to enter your credit card info. A robot if you will, rather than someone pretending to be someone else.
jen1447 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Wire transfers and stuff like that. Remember that college football star who got catfished? I think 'she' actually 'died' iirc ....the personal tragedy play can be used to extort money - hospital bills are piling up, mom has to quit her job to get dialysis so no income, etc., etc. 1
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Some chick once downloaded all my GF's pictures off facebook and started a fake profile pretending to be my GF, but under a different name. Pretty weird. I think she just wanted to see what it feels like to be a hot girl and get attention from men or something.
smackie9 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 Some chick once downloaded all my GF's pictures off facebook and started a fake profile pretending to be my GF, but under a different name. Pretty weird. I think she just wanted to see what it feels like to be a hot girl and get attention from men or something. Ummmm is that what your GF told you? Are sure it wasn't her doing it? Hoping you wouldn't find out that she is chatting with random guys on FB? 2
Author LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 HAHAHA smackie, I almost said the same thing, but six pages of giving dead elvis that ****, I decided to go easy on the king. 1
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 nah it was like 10 years ago before we were dating. she dealt with a bunch of **** trying to get the profile taken down
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 but how creepy right? one of her friends saw the profile and showed her. she said it was a terrible feeling. I can only imagine. wtf is wrong with people these days...
Author LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 That's real ****ed up. If I saw a gf on a dating website, I don't know how she could convince me that it wasn't her. Unless she sat there with me, no phone, no chance to get ahold of anyone, and we sent the profile a message and got a response. I guess I should reasonably know my gf enough that I could read the profile and know if it was her or not.
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 it was a facebook profile, and the chick actively used it and posted status updates and everything. super weird and creepy
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 she said it felt like someone had stolen her identity. I think some people want to see what it would feel like to be someone else.
Author LoveRefreshed Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 I think that's even creepier. Like what? Unless it's meant to be a troll account. Like a fake account with a hot chick will have about 500 dumbass male friends without trying. Then post status updates with compromised links. XSS, imbedded Trojans, and phishing distribution.
deadelvis Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 she said it was just a normal FB profile with stupid status updates about what she had for lunch or what she was watching on netflix. and the person would take (my GFs) new pics and post them as her own with comments like "had so much fun with my friends this weekend". people are ****ing weird man.
smackie9 Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 It would be a great excuse to use to get out of being busted for flirting with other guys on the net.....hmmmmm. keep your eye open dead. 1
phineas Posted August 8, 2015 Posted August 8, 2015 Just read a threat about this and didn't want to go all OT. Why do people catfish? I don't understand the end game. Just to waste someone's time? I wonder how many I have talked too. Is there good ways to spot them? They talk and talk but never want to meet. I mean I just stop talking to them by post 4. I ask them out, if they ignore/say no with some excuse like "I'm not ready yet", then I drop them. It's called Attention Whoring. I've had women from online pull this crap before. Waste my time texting, flirting, sending suggestive pics then literally disappearing hrs before a date or cancelling with a lame excuse or medical emergency. They know exactly what their doing. most of them after agreeing to meet will set a date WELL into the future just so you will text them for a week or so. When I meet women like this I tell them I don't know my schedule for next week but will contact them when I do know and if they attempt to text with me I always have a reason why I don't have time to text. When I do this, they usually can't wait to actually see me & show up for the date. When I text them all week they go poof last min. Not an exact science but close enough where I can tell if a woman is interested or just looking for an ego boost.
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