While you may not want to hear that, that person you’ve been chatting to for months (or even years!) online but you’ve never actually met, may not be the person they’re pretending be.
Inspired by the hit MTV series Catfish, here’s how to know you’re being catfished.
1. Highly Educated but Unemployed
So they have an Ivy League education, but they’re unemployed and living in their mom’s basement? We don’t mean to sound judgemental, but this is in fact highly unlikely. The economy may be tough right now, but it’s not that tough.
2. All the Photos are Group Shots or Obscured
If the photos of your dreamy online bae are all group shots, taken from far away, pixelated, or ones where their face is obscured, you may be dealing with a catfish. Ask them for a selfie and see if they’re able to deliver.
3. Refusing to Talk Over the Phone
There comes a time where all online romances have to move over to the real world and the first step in the right direction is a voice call. If they’re always finding an excuse to not talk over the phone, then you should definitely be suspicious.
4. The Webcam is Always Broken
Almost all laptops have webcams these days and every single smartphone has a front facing camera for video calling. A major red flag is if they’re always lamenting that their webcam is broken rendering them in capable of video calling you. Rather avoid this person and enjoy your favourite Canadian mobile casino instead.
5. Avoiding Social Media
So the only social media account they have is their online dating profile? No Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, or Snapchat? You should immediately be concerned if you have no other way to verify their identity.
6. Asking for a Loan
No matter how long you’ve been talking to someone online, you should absolutely never loan money to someone you’ve never met in real life. If they start asking you for financial assistance, cut all ties immediately.
7. Travels Plenty but Never Close to You
If their job requires that they travel a lot, but never seem to be anywhere close to where you live, this may be cause for concern. The “travel a lot” excuse may be just that – an excuse to never actually meet.
8. Too Good-Looking to Be True
If all their pictures look like they may have been taken professionally or they look vaguely famous, this is a major red flag. Do a reverse image search and see if there are hits for the same pictures anywhere else online.
9. Too Good to Be True Overall
Every person has skeletons in their closet, but if your online bae seems to be so close to perfection it’s actually unbelievable, that’s likely because it is. Don’t take everything they say as gospel.
10. You Have a Bad Gut Feeling
As with any form of dating, if you’re getting an icky feeling in your gut, there’s a good reason for it. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, it may be a good idea to back out before it goes too far.