By Jessica Huhn for DateAha!
Catfishers are the absolute worst. They’re the ones behind those fake profiles with completely fabricated identities —fake photos and all —designed to trick you into giving up money, goods, or sex.
Unfortunately, most dating sites endorse catfishers by letting them slide, rather than removing their scammy profiles. After all, the people behind these sites believe that more available profiles mean more chances to boost their revenue. And this creates a vicious cycle that leads more and more catfishers to crop up.
Even worse? Many fake profiles are actually planted by the dating sites in order to reel you in and encourage you to shell out money for premium features.
And what if you report a fake profile? Usually, the dating site will do nothing about it. And if anyone faces consequences, it will most likely be you, not the faker (and you will possibly have your profile removed completely)!
DateAha! has compiled over 20 real user experiences that show just how drastically dating sites enable catfishing, as posted on Consumer Affairs. But what can you do to defend yourself against the onslaught of scammers? Find out here.
OkCupid and PlentyOfFish Enable Catfishing: The Reports
1. Site-Made Profiles Pushing Premium Features
Multiple similar profiles with people all claiming to be close by? Blurred out profiles you can only see, and can only message, if you pay? As the users above recognized, these are fake profiles designed to target you specifically — and encourage you to shell out money for a premium account. And these profiles likely aren’t even human. Dating sites will often use bots (computerized profiles and programs) to push paid features — -stay on your guard.
Examples of Real Experiences:
Veronica, reviewing OkCupid
Geert, reviewing OkCupid
Robbie, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Tony of South Jordan, reviewing PlentyOfFish
When you first sign up and create a free profile on certain dating sites, you might notice that you’re immediately flooded with loads of messages, leading you to think that your profile’s attracting a lot of legitimate attention. But it’s really the sites’ own fake, computerized profiles that are bombarding you. Meanwhile, the site will also keep displaying a pop-up that tries to convince you to pay for premium features. The bots’ messages and this premium notification are closely connected! And once you buy? Goodbye, attention — further proof that the messages were faked.
Watch out for these signs of fake profiles:
- Hundreds of messages and requests within hours of signing up
- Users that you can’t actually search for by name, even though you got an email that says that user wants to meet you.
- Multiple messages from different users that look eerily similar
- Several profiles that look almost identical, with extremely basic profile info
- Profiles that look designed to appeal specifically to you, based on the preferences you listed.
Examples of Real Experiences:
Lisa, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Mick of Pawtucket, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Dawns, reviewing PlentyOfFish
John of Merced, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Once you pay for an upgrade, the dating sites want you to think your membership is worthwhile…so they’ll often deploy even more catfishing bots to keep you engaged for a few hours. But after those few hours, it’s easy to realize that they manipulated you. Paying isn’t worth it when all you get is more bot conversations. Don’t shell out!
Example of a Real Experience:
Ott of Alabama, reviewing PlentyOfFish
And yes, sometimes even those fake profiles that try to link you to other sites are run by the dating site itself. This usually happens when a company owns multiple dating sites and wants to increase traffic to a certain platform. Apply the same rule as you normally do — -don’t click the suspicious link!
Example of a Real Experience:
Brian, reviewing PlentyOfFish
2. Ignoring People Who Reported Catfishing
Clearly, dating sites don’t make safety a priority. Even when users report very blatant fraud by catfishers, the sites won’t impose any consequences for the fakers, and will just let their profiles be instead of removing them. Worse, there’s usually no way for the victims to get their money back. It’s time to treat online dating fraud like real-life fraud.
And no matter how the sites make you feel, remember — you’re not in the wrong for reporting fakes! If a dating site blocks you for encouraging accountability, don’t try to open another account on that site — the site doesn’t care about keeping you and others safe. Instead, move your business elsewhere.
Examples of Real Experiences:
Zlata, reviewing OkCupid
Heather of Tucson, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Larry, reviewing PlentyOfFish
David of Toronto, reviewing PlentyOfFish
3. Fake Soldiers, Allowed To Run Rampant
“Soldiers” who ask for money aren’t really in the military. They’re actually catfishers who claim to be soldiers in order to prey on the innocent and compassionate. And dating sites aren’t doing anything about these fakers. Watch out for money-desperate ”soldiers,” and anyone else who claims they’re in dire need of money — don’t give in!
Examples of Real Experiences:
Vanessa, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Chris of Atlanta, reviewing PlentyOfFish
M, reviewing OkCupid
4. Hijacked Profiles Turned Catfishing Profiles
Many inactive accounts become victims of profile hijacking, where either a scammer or the dating site itself takes over the profile for their own catfishing purposes, misrepresenting the profile creator. This is so wrong!
As Kevin of New York astutely points out, OkCupid and Match are owned by the same company. So, when you sign up for either website, Match can use your profile information if you stop using your profile — and even transfer it to the other site. They hijack the profile to raise the number of seemingly active users, and then engage with daters using that profile in the hopes of enticing them to pay for a subscription. Since the dating site’s misrepresenting who’s behind the profile…they’re just engaging in and endorsing catfishing.
Examples of Real Experiences:
Kevin of Westminster, reviewing OkCupid
Kevin of New York, reviewing OkCupid
5. Other enabling of catfishers.
Catfishers try to move you offsite (by asking for a phone number or email) because they think that a more private and personal environment will leave you more vulnerable. Unfortunately, many dating sites don’t remove these catfishers, so it’s common to encounter more catfishers than genuine people!
And if a dating site has no vetting process or photo verification process, it’s just throwing multiple bones to catfishers.
Examples of Real Experiences:
Tori, reviewing OkCupid
Mark of Villa Rica, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Michele, reviewing PlentyOfFish
Unfortunately, the point behind keeping fake profiles is to raise the number of supposedly active site users…and cover their own tracks when they create fake profiles of their own.
Dating sites that maintain their own fake profiles don’t bother to remove externally-run fakes, because this would leave their own fake profiles more exposed. This is why “deception” continues to occur “on both sides…the business and those who have the fake profiles.”
Example of a Real Experience:
Heather of Tarentum, reviewing OkCupid
Defend Yourself Against Catfishers
Dating sites enable catfishers instead of removing them from their sites and imposing consequences. But now, there’s a way for the online dating community to fight back against fake profiles — with DateAha! DateAha! lets you leave comments on top of any dating profile, on any dating site. So, whenever you spot a catfisher, you can leave a comment on their profile to call them out and warn other daters. That way, honest people won’t waste their time with fakers, and catfishers will have trouble successfully executing their schemes. This will make the online dating world safer, saner and more civil.
Use DateAha! for free comments and messaging on any dating site.
