Cyber Scam Protection
Looking for a side gig to help me through grad school, I ended up in a Facebook group for people trying to find jobs. I found an offer for one with flexible hours, and all I needed was a driver’s license. After doing some math, I realized the poster promised to pay over 100k a year just to drive a pickup truck. His name and picture matched who he claimed to be on the company website. When I called, however, they said that gentleman was in no way involved in the conversation I was having. I realized I was being catfished. I reported and blocked whoever it was, even though I had already given him a scanned copy of my driver’s license. Who knows what would have happened if I had given him more personal information?
Catfishing is a common tactic used by internet scammers. It’s related to phishing and advance-fee scams that involve pretending to be someone else online, specifically by exploiting social media’s ability to allow and even promote anonymous communication. Usually, catfishing is employed to scam people into a relationship. The term actually comes from a 2010 documentary called Catfish.
The movie is about Nev Schulman, a young photographer who allows his brother and some friends to document his online relationship. Nev met Megan when her younger sister sent him a painting of his profile picture. He began flirting with Megan online and even started sharing phone calls. The documentary takes an unexpected turn when they realize the songs Megan is sending, which she claims to have recorded herself, are not even covers but are just copied music files readily available on the internet. The group investigates Megan’s profile before eventually making a surprise visit to the address Nev had been sending postcards. Nev and his friends soon discover that all of the accounts he’d been interacting with were being controlled by Megan’s mother, Abby, and though Abby’s daughter exists, she hasn’t been in contact with her for some time. Those weren’t even pictures of her online.
Catfishers, because they are lonely, want to manipulate someone, or for whatever reason, will exercise what little power they have over others to make themselves feel better. Sometimes it’s to extract currency. Other times, it’s simply to feed their ego.
Written by Andrew Scott