What would you do if you spotted your partner's profile on a dating app? Confront them? Break up with them? Set up a profile of your own?
One woman has left the internet in stitches for the way she handled her philandering man. In what's being hailed as the "most iconic revenge," she cooked up the perfect plan to beat her boyfriend at his own game. After finding him on Hinge, she roped in a few friends, set up a fake account, and waited patiently before luring him to a "date" an hour out of town. What happened next is classic...
The entire catfishing saga has been revealed in a hilarious episode of the It's A Girl Thing podcast on Instagram. And it's honestly too good not to share.
Many people cry bitter tears when they find out their partner is cheating
Image credits: Brooke Cagle (not the actual photo)
But not this woman... She cooked up such perfect revenge on her BF that she couldn't help but laugh
Image source: girlthingpod
Here's the Instagram video, and we'll forgive you if you laugh while watching it
How to spot a catfish, according to the experts
If you aren't familiar with the term, catfishing is when a person uses false information and photographs to create a fake identity, or profile, online with the intention of tricking, harassing, or scamming someone else.
It's quite common on social media or dating apps, where catfish form virtual relationships under false pretenses. Sometimes for sick fun, other times to lure people into financial scams. In some cases, the “catfish” tries to obtain intimate images from their victims in order to extort or blackmail them. They could also use other personal information shared with them to commit identity theft.
According to CNN, the term is believed to originate from the 2010 documentary “Catfish,” in which a young Nev Schulman starts an online relationship with a teenager, “Megan,” who turns out to be an older woman.
"In the final scene of the documentary, the woman’s husband shares an anecdote about how live cod used to be exported from Alaska alongside catfish, which kept the cod active and alert," reports CNN. "He likened this to people in real life who keep others on their toes, like his wife."
There are a few ways to spot a catfish... One warning sign is if a random person contacts you out of the blue, starts regular conversations and showers you with compliments. They're trying to quickly form a relationship and earn your trust.
"They may state desirable qualities in their opening conversations, including wealth or attractiveness, but then rarely or never call you, either over the phone or on a video call," warns CNN.
Another red flag is if they don't have many friends on social media, don't post a lot, or their profile was created recently. "Search results using their name may not yield many results and their stories are usually inconsistent. For example, personal details like where they live or go to school might change when discussed again," notes CNN.
You should also be wary if they declare their love for you shortly after making contact. And be even more concerned if they start asking for intimate images or money.
"Many scammers use already available photos of other people in their fake personas, which may be possible to spot using a reverse image search," reports CNN.
Studies show that catfish are more likely to be educated men. And Evita March, a senior lecturer in psychology at Federation University in Australia, found that people with the strong personality traits of sadism, psychopathy, and narcissism were more likely to catfish.
Artificial intelligence is making it easier for people to create unique and realistic fake online profiles. But that doesn't mean they can't be caught. AI-generated images can be detected, using tools such as AI-Generated Image Detector because of their built-in patterns by design.
CNN notes that while catfishing is not explicitly a crime, the actions that often accompany it, like extortion, are.
"Highly skilled in strategic planning and e*******n": People praised the girlfriend for a job well done
