Table of contents:
- Online dating and the catfishing phenomenon
- Why are people easily deceived?
- How to avoid catfishing?
The expression "a mate in your hand" is the most fitting description of the way modern society finds its mate. You can meet the ideal person you have been looking for just by relying on social media, matchmaking sites, or dating apps that are loaded on your cell phone. However, if you are not careful, you can be trapped in a fraud mode that is not only detrimental emotionally but also materially, such as in phenomena. catfishing.
Online dating and the catfishing phenomenon
The internet has long been a wetland for fraud. Anonymity is the privilege of internet users which is often misused to make profits illegally.
Phenomenon catfishing describes a case of fraud in cyberspace committed by people who pretend to show interest in others, but have ulterior motives. Action catfishing this is common in online dating.
They do not appear with real identities. Doer catfishing mostly stealing other people's identities or lying about their origins.
The one who did catfishing can be based on different motives. There are those who are just playing around, lacking confidence, taking personal revenge or those who want to extort the wealth of people who have succeeded in tricking them.
Initially the perpetrator will test the target's interest in him by behaving like someone who is approaching romantically. If the target responds well, the perpetrator then uses his tricks.
Scams usually start with asking for gifts or special treatment first. Over time the perpetrator will exploit the target's weaknesses further until the target really falls in love and is willing to risk anything for him.
Why are people easily deceived?
Fraud cases on the internet are phenomena catfishing This is actually not a new thing and has been waking up by many people. However, it turns out that there are still many people who are trapped, especially to the point of losing materially.
ScamWatch noted that in 2018 Australia suffered an estimated $ 25.5 million in losses from fraud cases under the guise of fake boyfriends on the internet. This number is quite large considering the total loss caused by fraud cases in general is 100, 7 million dollars.
How has the catfishing phenomenon tricked so many people?
People who have strong emotional relationships with other people tend to trust that person a lot, especially when they have romantic interests.
Psychologist Edward Thorndike calls this psychological condition 'hello effect '. If someone already has a liking from the beginning, he will continue to look at that person positively even though the person he likes has done bad things.
In phenomena catfishing, the perpetrator usually succeeds in catching the target's attention when giving a strong initial impression. The first impression that succeeds in presenting this positive image will strengthen the influence hello effect on target.
How to avoid catfishing?
Action catfishing it may be difficult to detect. The reason is, it is difficult to be sure that someone serious has an interest in you. Especially when communication is only established in cyberspace, it will be difficult to catch lies directly.
However, in every fraud mode with romantic motives, usually the perpetrator shows some strange and suspicious behavior. He will have a lot of excuses and will continue to avoid if asked to meet in person or communicate through video chat.
Communication is usually carried out from only one platform social media only. You can also identify signs of the lie through the stories and inconsistent explanations.
A simple tracking trick can be done by finding out the source of the profile photo on his social media account page.
Lastly, for the sake of personal safety, any online dating or matchmaking endeavors, it's good to be skeptical of the intentions and goals of your date.
