When we think of a Catfish we usually think about the fish who is big and slimy and it has whiskers like a Cat. This fish feeds off just about anything and it is quite strange looking.
Since the start of the Internet we have seen many case of Women and Men getting taken advantage of by some Man or Woman on an online website pretending to be a suitor. They will send you a message and when you look at their online profile, it is usually a picture of a very handsome Man or a very pretty Woman. The picture usually looks like a professional photo and the person looks like they could be a celebrity or model.
A Catfish is usually looking for someone who is older,or a person who they may not consider attractive. They tend to read online profiles and search out people who have lost a spouse or someone who is vulnerable.
You will notice that their messages seem like they are written by someone else and most of the time, it will be misspelled. A false suitor will ask you to communicate with them off the website and this is a red flag.
They will message you and tell you that you are beautiful and they could not resist your picture and they want to start a relationship with you. Usually you will hear a sad story about their spouse being deceased and they have young children. Always, they like to tell you that you are their soul mate and they start acting very aggressive regarding starting a relationship with you and they start to talk about marriage.
This all happens in a matter of weeks or a month after they approach you online. You will notice that they will start to make up stories about needing money for an emergency or money to come and see you. If you send money one time, they will assume that you are desperate and they will continue to say that they love you and ask for more and more money.
Every time they say that they are coming to see you, another emergency comes up and they will say that they are stuck in their country and need more money to pay fines and etc.
These people are usually from another country and they use form letters to copy and send to you. A lot of times they are communicating with you online from an Internet Café. They always have the right words to say.
After people see all the stories on television; people still continue to fall victim to these kinds of scams. The thought is "This will never happen to me."
I saw a story of a Woman losing four million dollars to a low life scam artist and I saw a few stories with Men finding out that they have been scammed and still continue to send money until they are totally broke.
We have to learn that it may be best to find romance the old fashioned way and that is, going out and socializing with like minded people to find a relationship.
Even older adults can find clubs and outings geared toward more mature people and see what is out there in the real world.
It is good to still be aware of people who may have a hidden agenda. It is wonderful to meet someone and share your life with them but please remember if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
If you are still considering going online to meet someone, then you need to practice online safety and never, never, send anyone money and if they ask you for anything, block them.
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