Finding out that your online relationship was just a sea of lies is devastating. It’s much worse when the deceit is disguised as a romantic connection. It’s easy to overlook a sea of warning signs when you’re involved in a new relationship. However, if you’re looking for how to determine if you’re being catfished, you’re probably already skeptical of what’s happening to you. It’s possible that you’ve already picked up on the fact that they seem sketchy.
Are you a victim of catfishing? It’s important to understand the red flags of online predatory behavior so that you can take the necessary precautions to keep yourself safe.
Making excuses to avoid video calls
Does your partner always find a way to get out of video calling you? Do they make ridiculous excuses like their phone’s camera doesn’t work?
Every phone has a camera these days, and every device lets you stream or record a video. Then you also have easy-to-use video conferencing software. A messaging app will often have a built-in video chat or live streaming feature. They wouldn’t make excuses if they were truly interested in meeting you.
Barely any following or friends on social media
One of the easiest ways to spot a catfish, or even a fake account online, is that they have a handful of friends and followers. Their activity should also be consistent among the social media platforms you’re following them on. If they are always online but have zero friends, they are definitely not being honest with you.
Can’t send you spontaneous pictures
Is the information on your partner’s social media accounts oddly limited? When you ask for more photos, do they keep repeating a select few and never send new ones? Is it impossible for them to send you images of places they have recently visited?
This could be because they don’t have any real pictures, to begin with. It’s really easy to steal pictures from another person’s profile and create a fake account online. You can use stock images, too, and the average person would never know. However, a simple reverse image search will give you all the answers you need.
They refuse to meet in person
If the person you’re interested in seems to always be online, they could just be a homebody who prefers not to be social in real life. But when this is coupled with other warning signs, it raises the possibility that they are a catfish. If you’ve noticed that they always make an excuse to get out of meeting you in person, it’s time to start doing some investigating and confront this relationship.
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