catfishing

Catfishing refers to the creation of a fictitious online persona, or fake identity (typically on social networking platforms), with the intent of deception, usually to mislead a victim into an online romantic relationship or to commit financial fraud, such as the pig butchering scam. Perpetrators, usually referred to as catfish, generally use fake photos and lie about their personal lives to present themselves as more attractive for financial gain, personal satisfaction, evasion of legal consequences, or to troll. They often love bomb the victim, but refuse to have video call or talk on the phone so that they cannot be verified, their IP address does not match the city of their supposed location, refuse or repeatedly postpone meeting in person, have inconsistencies with name, pictures, or information appearing on their profiles, or request money while isolating victims from real-life social circles by insisting the relationship remain a secret. Public awareness surrounding catfishing has increased in recent years, partially attributed to an increase in the occurrence of the practice combined with a number of high-profile instances.

==Etymology== The term was introduced with the release of the 2010 American documentary film Catfish, following executive producer Nev Schulman, himself a victim of catfishing. Schulman had developed an online friendship with a 40-year-old housewife mainly presenting herself as an 18-year-old girl from the Midwestern United States. In the documentary, the woman's husband compares her behavior to that of a catfish being shipped with live cod.