What is Catfishing? We explain the online scam

The unlimited possibilities of the online world unfortunately also call criminal activities to the scene. This includes so-called catfishing, in which false profiles serve as a basis. We explain what to look out for.

Lying from the start: Catfishing involves the use of false profiles.

The list of online scam methods is long. Anyone who likes to make new contacts should pay particular attention to catfishing.

What is catfishing and how can you protect yourself?

A catfish, meaning "catfish," pretends to have a false identity in order to use it to make a profit.

• This procedure is common in many online areas where people communicate with each other, such as social media, but also in forums or on dating platforms.
• A direct monetary gain is a frequent goal, although not exclusive. For example, it can happen in online dating to use a false and significantly more attractive profile to get a better response.
• A Catfish identity can either be fictitious or based on someone else's real profile.
• The principle existed long before the Internet, but experienced a new level of spread there, since scam attempts can be implemented online with even less effort.

It therefore applies: As soon as something seems strange to you with new contacts, be careful and do not disclose any further info. Instead, you should try to check the profile for authenticity, for example, through mutual friends or forms of communication that are difficult to fake, such as video chats.