5 Ways to Prevent Catfishing

أنت تعرف القول الشهير: "إذا كان الشيء جيدًا جدًا لدرجة يصعب تصديقها، فمن المحتمل أنه صحيح"؟ هذا ينطبق على الكثير مما يحدث عبر الإنترنت، ويشمل في الغالب عمليات الاحتيال المتعلقة بالمال. هناك عملية الاحتيال بالملك النيجيري، عملية الاحتيال باليانصيب، وخطط كسب المال السريع. لكن ماذا لو كانت الأمور تتعلق بالعلاقة الرومانسية؟

السيدات والرجال، هذا النشاط يُسمى التظاهر بالصداقة، وهو أمر لا ترغب فيه. لحسن الحظ، هناك طرق لتحديد ما إذا كنت تتعرض للتظاهر بالصداقة.

بحث الصور العكسي

بالرغم من أنه قد يبدو الأمر تقنيًا قليلًا، قد لا تكون على علم بأنك فعلت ذلك بالفعل. البحث العكسي عن الصورة هو وظيفة أو أداة بحث عن الصور تساعدك على العثور على مصادر أخرى للصورة المحددة عبر محركات البحث الرئيسية ومواقع الويب الأخرى عبر الإنترنت.

Google البحث بالصورة يمكن وصفه بأنه محرك بحث الصور العكسية الأكثر شيوعًا الذي يمكنك العثور عليه على الإنترنت اليوم. يمكنك إما لصق عنوان URL للصورة أو سحب صورة محلية لبدء البحث. ثم سيوفر لك قائمة بالصور المتطابقة على الفور بالإضافة إلى مجموعة متنوعة من المعلمات الأخرى. إذا لم تكن راضيًا عن نتائج صور PH0X، Yandex هو محرك بحث آخر شائع ذو خلفية قوية في البحث العكسي للصور.

Sure, you can use it to track down the origin of a photo, find a particular product, or check out which celebrity starred in a specific movie. Still, it's also useful for verifying whether you're being catfished or not. All you have to do is upload their photo, browse through the results, and see if they really are who they say they are.

Social Media Audit (Stalking)

Stalking used to be defined as unwanted or obsessive behavior toward another individual. But because of social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, stalking has become almost inevitable and is now more or less considered as a common habit.

So apart from checking up on the photos you and your potential catfisher have been exchanging with one another, you might want to do a little 'social media auditing' by checking on different social media platform accounts such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to verify if they are who they say they are. If you're already friends with them, check to see if their followers or friends are real people and not bots. It's also a good idea to check their tagged photos, likes, and comments as well.

And if things are starting to get intimate with that person but are still hesitant to share their social media profile, then that should be a red flag on its own.

Confirm Identity (Video call or Meet up)

The next thing you're going to want to do to prevent being catfished is to confirm their identity. There are two main ways of achieving this:

The first, which is the safer option, is to initiate a video call to at least make sure that the person that you are talking to exists. Undoubtedly, there is still a chance that someone could just be impersonating your possible future lover behind the camera. So try to see if they can carry the conversation just like it was going in the chat. If they can't, then there might be a chance that they are either shy or having a hard time going off-script. So if you're still not convinced, you might have to go a little more personal with option number two.

We know that meeting up with your potential catfisher can be dangerous, so we highly advise you to take necessary precautions and at least bring another friend with you, or meet in public during the daytime in case things go south. Once you have confirmed that the person is real, you're only left with a few other things to check just to be 100% sure.

Study the Answers

Once you've got the ball rolling with someone you've just met online, you're sure to find yourself bombarding each other with questions to establish a better connection with one another. But this can be tricky as they could have already thought of the answers to questions you're probably going to ask.

An excellent tactic to use in an event like this is to avoid asking basic questions and carefully study their answers to see if they sound forced or are starting to get redundant. Keep on the lookout for consistent answers. If the case isn't true, you might want to start thinking twice if that person is real or not.

Trust Your Instincts, Talk to Your Friends

You are in control of your decisions, but that doesn't mean you can't get some extra insights from another perspective. If you're comfortable enough to open up to your friends, they might be able to shed some light that you are unable to see. Who knows? Maybe they've been on the same boat before.

But ultimately, it's all going to be up to you. Your intuition comes from a feeling that only you can experience. And because the feeling is so personal, nobody can influence your decisions if you are genuinely in touch with your sixth sense. So pay attention to your gut feelings. No matter how good something looks, if it doesn't feel right, it's best just to walk away.

Nobody likes being scammed, and the best way to avoid becoming the victim of catfishing is to equip yourself with the right information. Know the signs, learn from other people's mistakes, and be smart. And I hope this article has helped you with that part.