We’ve all heard the stories of people catfishing on OkCupid so the other day I signed up for OkCupid to see how easy it was to pretend to be someone I’m definitely not.
I signed up with a bogus email, answered 15 personality questions, uploaded a picture of a male, and filled out my self-summary (as shown). From there I targeted the older generation of women on OkCupid and then started clicking “like” on profiles – so if they liked me back, we could chat for free.
Now, let me preface this by saying that none of this felt good in my belly. Every time I got a message from a wonderful woman, my heart sank. Here is this fabulous woman looking for love, thinking I’m real, and asking me how my day was and here I am catfishing them. What’s “Catfishing” again? This coffee mug from Urban Dictionary can help with that.
So the messages came pouring in from wonderful women looking to chat. If I was one of the asshats without a moral compass, this was too easy. OkCupid had no idea who I was. No one verified my identity. No one asked me to verify my age, sex, or location… never mind verifying my sex offender or convict status. I could be absolutely anyone behind the profile and could’ve acted however I chose to. The only people involved now are my lying ass and you, your wonderful self. These people lie to prey on people’s emotions and love bomb them until they get their victim hooked for whatever ultimate goal they decided on. People get blinded when there’s matters of the heart at play and that’s why online dating can be so dangerous.
Sigh, you see how messed up that is, right? Think about it, the person you are talking to over any of these apps could be *me*.
I quickly came clean to the women I met on okcupid explaining I was trying to see how easy it was to be someone else and told them my story. The responses I got were all in unison that they’ve been met with scammers, catfish, married men, liars, etc. and they all agreed that Aste is something that will help police the sites where nothing else is being done to help verify that the person you’re talking to is legit.
I apologized profusely for wasting their time, but honestly? I was met with well wishes and encouragement to save the world.
While online dating can be a wonderful way to meet someone, just be sure to ask the right questions and verify that what your new friend is telling you is real. Pretend it’s me on the other end of the site. And if you need help? Know we’re always here.
Think you’re being catfished or just want to confirm you’re not? You can hire one of our investigators and get an answer within 24 hours. I’d say that’s pretty cheap for peace of mind.
Be safe and have fun out there!
Love and light,