13 May Are Online Platforms Responsible for a Lack of Protection to Users Against Catfishing?
The art of catfishing has developed alongside the digital age, hiding behind an online identity is easier than ever. Delving into the undercover world of catfishing, we meet the people behind the growing phenomenon, discovering the lack of verification used by digital platforms, failing to protect their users from the harmful phenomenon. Names of interviewees have been changed to protect their identity.
In early 2017 Lucia Browning catches the interest of Marco Arnold after sending a friend request to the individual on Facebook. Her profile shows a blonde haired, green eyed woman shooting a dazzling smile at the viewer on the other side of the screen. A 31-year-old finance assistant at Lloyds bank, with an interest in travelling and old movies, her looks and mutual interests, ignite a spark of curiosity in Marco, leading to an eight-month relationship built entirely through Facebook.
What Marco is unaware of, is that Lucia Browning does not exist, she is an individual formed from a profile picture, sourced from Google images, a job similar to the career listed on Marcos Facebook profile, and a string of messages controlled by 18 year old Ella to trap a man almost twice her age, a man who previously rejected her advances due to a significant gap in age.
With significant ease Ella created the alter ego of Lucia, the only verification process…clicking a confirmation link sent to her email. Opening up about the experience for the first time Ella provides a menacing perspective on the lack of vetting social media profiles undergo “Looking back on it now I find it terrifying that I could become a whole other person so easily, I didn’t need anything to prove who I was, I take complete responsibility for what I did but Facebook made it so easy.”
This is the reality of the digital age, with the rise of social media, dating apps and digital platforms the issue of identity and authenticity, of an individual and the information they share has arisen drastically over the past decade. With millions of profiles and images across the web, it is an easy task for an individual to conceal and manipulate the identity they portray, from behind the anonymous screen of a computer or phone. This phenomenon has led to a term for this specific type of individual, a ‘Catfish’.
Facebook and other social media platforms form just one branch of a tree of the issues surrounding catfishing. With an easy sign up process, users have the ability to input any information they choose, regardless of if it is their own or another’s, leading to thousands of fake profiles lurking across the web, ready to deceive real individuals.
Dating online has been a well-known link to catfishing, acting as the starting point of numerous catfishing stories, told by millions, effecting individuals globally. With a growing digital presence in the modern world, the number of individuals effected by the deception of catfishing, only continues to increase, as more people turn to the internet to find a partner. A 2018 survey conducted by Sugar Cookie, revealed that 30% of people had been catfished through a dating site.
Fdating.com is just one of hundreds of free dating sites available, with a simple sign up process, a user need only enter an email, name and date of birth to create an account, after which information and images can be sourced and uploaded from anywhere, with the site currently enforcing no verification process to confirm the authenticity of its users.
Delving deeper into this issue, I conducted my own research, taking a sample of 50 profiles on Fdating, and using the ‘TinEye’ reverse image search to reveal potential catfish, I found that 13 out of 50 profile images were sourced from Google images or another search engine. This statistic reveals that on average 26% of profiles across the site, are potential catfish. Fdating did not respond for comment.
This verification process, or lack thereof, appears to be a common trend across a number of dating websites, with a range of companies offering user verification as part of a paid, premium subscription. This information draws attention to the apparent, lack of responsibility dating websites feel they hold in regard to user safety and security, viewing this necessity as am way of profiting from user insecurity brought about by catfishing as opposed to acting upon the issue as a fundamental requirement.
Drawing upon her experience Mia Allon, a former online dating member, shared her thoughts as a user “I used a number of dating websites for around a year, there was so many catfish, it was obvious too, I saw people using images of Instagram influencers like Hayden Deveaux and one guy even used images of Brother Nature, it just wasn’t worth the time figuring out who to trust, it was a bit of a laugh seeing some of the attempts, but it did draw attention to the fact that these sites have absolutely no interest in protecting you as a user, having to pay to only see verified users showed me that too.”
The process of verifying a user’s profile image is simple, this was displayed in my own research, this highlights the lack of effort taken to identify potential catfishing on the site, bringing about the question, are these sites simply uninterested? or capitalizing off a user’s interest in their own safety? Regardless of the answer, user safety is a responsibility that lies with the company.
With an increase of 1117% in smartphone users over the past decade, the concept of online dating has morphed, transitioning over to popular dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Badoo, opening up a new market of individuals and a contemporary spectrum of catfishing.
Tinder is a particularly popular dating platform with 75% of 18 – 24 year olds having used the app. Renowned for its catfish accounts, a number of its users have taken to social media, mocking the catfish and their mediocre attempts at impersonating celebrities, models and Instagram influencers.
During Tinder’s early years, a Facebook profile was mandatory in creating an account, enforcing the use of a user’s name, age and Facebook profile picture, despite not acting as a significant form of verification it did provided a sense of legitimacy, with the information making up a significant portion of the content displayed on an individual’s tinder profile. As of 2018 however, Tinder has introduced the option of a mobile number sign up, this has opened up the floodgates to potential fake profiles, with an option that bypasses the already miniscule attempt at authenticating users.
With a larger number of people now able to access the app, a wider audience to view adverts and purchase premium subscriptions has increased revenue for the company, however compromising user verification in the process. Once again leaving users wondering if income is a priority over the responsibility to protect their users from fake accounts and potential scams. Tinder did not respond to the request for comment.
Jessica Howeth, a former marketing employee at Tinder stated “Obviously profit is the main priority as it is with any business, but I do think they neglect the users in terms of their safety procedures”
John Russel, one of millions who have fallen victim to catfishing, experienced the drastic impact catfishing can have on an individual’s emotions and personal life. Joining tinder at the age of 19 John met Lizzy, a 20-year-old student from Leeds, speaking on and off over the period of 5 months, Lizzy opened up to John about her financial issues, coercing John into sending her over £700 during the time period for which they spoke. Asking Lizzy out on a date while visiting Leeds for a university open day, John showed up for the date, flowers in hand, waiting for Lizzy, who did not show up. “After a few hours of waiting I went home and found out that she had unmatched me, there was no way of getting in contact with her, I was pretty devastated to be honest, and humiliated doesn’t even cover it, then around four months later my friend showed me a model on Instagram, I recognised her straight away as Lizzy, except her name was Sveta Bilyalova, she was an Instagram influencer with over 6 million followers, I only realized that id been catfished then.”
On the other side of the issue, not all dating apps deserve the negative reputation they receive, some actively pioneering the fight against catfishing, prioritising user security and protection. rolling out this latest update in March, the dating app Badoo, introduced a feature allowing users to verify their account, by replicating and posing in a range of gestures suggested by the app, images already on a phone or computer are not accepted during this process. Adding another layer of protection, users are able to modify their settings to only see verified users, limiting the chance of encountering catfish and lowering the ability for individuals to catfish others. Users who choose not to follow the verification process are still able to use the app, however, will no longer be visible to those who have updated their settings. Bumble and other dating apps are also beginning to follow suit, leaving apps such as Tinder behind.
Striving to eradicate catfishing, recently launched apps such as Badoo provide a clear example of the way forward, prioritising user safety above all. Taking positive strides to a more transparent digital dating scene, other online platforms are exposed, with the ease of verifying users more apparent due to the latest advancements from dating apps such as Badoo and my own research into verification.
Perhaps the biggest catfish of all is the companies themselves, concealing ulterior motives and profiting off user insecurities. A hidden catfish, remaining unnoticed, due to a constant look out for fake accounts from individual users themselves, a responsibility that lies with the company.
