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‘Love is a powerful force and in our pursuit of it we are easily blinded’: Examining negative consequences experienced by catfishing fraud victims

Golladay, Katelyn A ; Snyder, Jamie A (2025) — International Review of Victimology

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DOI: 10.1177/02697580251392596 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   United States
Tags:   Catfishing, Emotional Distress, Emotional Harm, Measurement, Online Fraud, Online Relationships, Online Victimization, Physical Distress, Physical Harm, Platform Policy, Repeat Victimization, Reporting, Romance Scams, Victim Consequences, Victim Experience
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Synopsis

            
Digital victimization is increasingly observed as a societal concern, with individuals concealing their true identities behind screens to manipulate and target others who are seeking friendship or companionship online. The study centers on catfishing, defined as the creation of a partially fake or completely fake profile on a social media platform or dating site for the purpose of deceiving another person. This work builds on a relatively narrow line of prior research that has predominantly examined those harmed by online misrepresentation. By examining the harms associated with this deceptive practice, the article situates catfishing within a broader context of online vulnerability and victimization, highlighting the kinds of negative experiences that can arise when trust is manipulated in digital spaces. To address these questions, the researchers rely on self-report survey data to identify and analyze the consequences faced by catfish victims. Respondents share personal accounts of adverse outcomes stemming from encounters with deceptive online identities, providing insight into the range and severity of harm experienced. The analytical approach focuses on cataloging the types of negative effects and exploring patterns across cases, with attention to how these effects compare to those observed in other forms of crime, whether encountered online or in offline settings. The emphasis on self-reported experiences foregrounds the perceived impact of online deception and its persistence over time in victims’ lives. The findings indicate that victims of catfishing endure negative consequences that resemble those reported by victims of a variety of crimes, spanning both digital and physical environments. This alignment suggests that catfishing functions as a form of victimization whose effects correspond to established understandings of harm in broader crime literature. In light of these results, the article discusses implications for policy and proposes directions for future research. The policy-oriented discussion considers potential measures to mitigate risk and support affected individuals, while recommendations for future inquiry outline avenues to deepen understanding of the prevalence, trajectories, and long-term consequences of online deception.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Research on catfishing is scarce and has largely emphasized detecting fake profiles, preventing financial fraud, and legal recourse. Empirical evidence on consequences beyond financial loss is especially limited. The paper identifies only one prior published study specifically examining catfishing consequences, and notes that suggested harms to employment, relationships, and finances had not been empirically explored.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study used self-report online surveys administered in spring and fall 2023 through Cloud Research Connect. Eligible participants were English-speaking US citizens aged 18 or older with social-media accounts and online-dating-app experience. Analyses included 663 respondents who reported an online relationship in the prior five years involving false or misleading self-presentation. Measures assessed emotional and physical consequences lasting a month or more, distress, work and family problems, incident features, demographics, and prior victimization.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Findings are based on self-reported survey responses from a screened, nonprobability online sample of US adults who spoke English, had social-media accounts, and had used online dating applications. The design relies on respondents’ retrospective accounts of relationships during the previous five years and cannot establish causal effects of incident characteristics on reported consequences. The broad catfishing definition also combines romantic, friendship, casual, monetary, and non-monetary deception.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Future research should further examine non-financial emotional, physical, social, and career-related consequences of catfishing, including how victim and incident characteristics shape these outcomes. Research is also needed to inform victim-response resources and prevention strategies for broader catfishing experiences, including non-romantic and non-monetary deception.

          

              

    
    

        
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