Who hasn’t been catfished?
No one wants to admit it. That’s the truth. But we’ve all been duped by online ruses in the “married but dating” scene.
I’ve met a man at a coffee shop that was at least 2 decades older than he said and another looking nothing like his headshot.
Holy shit, that’s him! I thought to myself. What the hell!
I stuck it out to be polite, but I was mighty unhappy.
“What do you think?” he asked me at the end of our date.
I think I should do a better job of weeding out men.
Pretty soon, I’m going to get serious about cracking down on imposters. I’m going to make them take a picture with my username on a piece of paper and send it to me before a meeting, haha.
If they are super annoyed, they’re not legit. A guy that wants sex will jump the hoops.
Throw that fish back. Keep looking. Plenty of bait left for a damn fleet.
Go with your gut instincts and my tips on how to spot a catfish:
1. Watch for the “too good” person. The one who is seemingly without flaws. Attractive and nice? That’s a catfish! LOL.
I told one guy, “That picture can not be you!”
“It’s me,” he said.
“Not some stock photo or from years ago?”
“Nope, I promise. Meet me, and I’ll prove it to you.”
Hmmm, am I going to become an unwilling organ donor?
2. Do a Google reverse image search.
This is why I send Picasso-esque portraits.
I’ll send a partial angled photo. Never two eyes in a shot. Or my whole face. Why? The Almighty Google can’t find a match. It’s not symmetrical enough.
Men still might be swayed (even with Cyclops eye).
“No way is your husband denying you sex.”
“Um, yes? He is…in fact. That’s why I’m here — cheating.”
“You are for real?”
“Yeah?!”
“I’ve been catfished so many times….”
Okay, not my problem, but whatever. We are all gun shy in adultery land. I get it.
3. In Kik, tell them to send you a “live” photo.
It’s “in person” and under the “camera.” IF they are on the up and up, they will happily oblige. This works wonders for weeding out potential candidates.
Before you get “excited” about a potential match. “She’s perfect!” Uh, she might be, or she could be a Russian bot or a potential extortionist. See below.
4. “Send me a photo where you are doing A + B routine.”
Guys, play along. Period. No other choice if you want the pussy.
Women have a million options. And most won’t put up with it. They’d just keep looking. Plenty of fish in the sea instead of talking to someone painfully paranoid.
“You don’t trust me?”
“Uh, no?”
That’s the risk in being too demanding for “proof.” As a result, you could lose potential matches. Or, save yourself valuable time in outing a scammer. It’s a tough call to make.
5. Another option is to run their picture through https://imgops.com/
It will show you if their profile photo is fake or taken from another site. It’s not 100% foolproof but it can serve you well in eliminating the fakers.
You don’t need to waste negative and suspicious energy in affairing. Let’s get used to the fact that this is an utter shitshow. Online “married but dating” isn’t for the weak. It’s teeming with imposters. Or worse. I won’t even get into the extortionists.
6. Run their picture though https://thispersondoesnotexist.com
These are the “bury you in a basement” types. Save yourself, please. Usually a close-up headshot and no body. You’ll be the body. Trust me.
Insist on a live photo on Kik.
Takeaway for dodging the cagey catfishers:
It sucks to be catfished. The pics above the head. The blurred shots. The faraway ones. The obviously doctored photos. The 10–15–20 years younger ones. Fake photos.
So be aware and not too gullible. Or be too cagey and cautious.
I know it’s a fine line.
Go forth and verify, heathens!
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This post was previously published on The Scarlett Letter.
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