It is so common in today’s day and age to hear about individuals being catfished by their friends or online lovers. Unfortunately, people are far too trusting of images and do not push or demand more photos, video chat, and phone calls.
I was flipping through the channels the other night, and the TV show Catfish from MTV was on, and the story was about a person namely Jose who had been in the series a previous season as someone who catfished a man who thought he was dating a woman. Jose would alter his voice to sound like a female, and he would carry on this farce for some time. Well, Jose was exposed the previous season by Nev and Max the hosts of the TV show.
Then they received an email from Jose’s friends who informed them that Jose had just been catfished and needed some investigative assistance to determine who he was talking to. So Nev and Max did their background checks and cyber investigations, completing image searches, reverse phone checks and social media investigating to confirm who the person was Jose was talking to. Nev and Max end up confirming that the person in the pictures that Jose had from the Facebook account was fake and not the same person as Jose had been speaking to on a daily basis. Nev and Max called the individual that Jose had been speaking to and asked him if he would attend the TV show to explain the situation and what happened. Reluctantly the individual actually attended a local park where Nev, Max, and Jose were. He introduced himself as Jose and apologized to Jose for lying to him and said that he had not emotional or sexual feelings for Jose that it was a fake profile he had setup to just escape his own life. In the end, both Jose’s makeup and seem to remain friends months down the road.
Now, why are we telling you this?
You see this on TV shows all the time, and they have stories like this they share but what about all the people who get frauded online from meeting people who are not on TV. If you are dating someone, and you are not sure who they are, and they will not confirm their identity call our private investigators in Toronto, Ottawa, Barrie, Mississauga or anywhere in Ontario and we can find out who the person is by completing a background check, skip trace, locate, cyber investigation, etc. We often see people hurt and sometimes financially taken advantage of so please give us a call anytime or email anytime to ask questions and we recommend that you do not send money to any individual online that you are dating without having confirmation of who they are an if it is a loan contract stating the terms of the loan.
About the Author
Whitney Joy Smith
Founder of The Smith Investigation Agency in 2014, Whitney Joy Smith’s extensive background as a private investigator is matched only by her passion for the role. A graduate of several respected institutions, including Northwest Florida State College and George Brown College, her early years in life were spent between Canada and the United States. This education, along with her formative years as a private investigator in various agencies, informed much of her knowledge of private investigative laws, regulations, and operating standards in both countries.
The recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades, including the Consumers Choice Award, Best in Ottawa, and many others, Whitney takes pride in working closely with her ever-growing agency to raise the bar, maintain compliance, and meet the investigative needs of clients. Whitney is active in various membership and supporting roles, including the CPIRC, CBN, CAPI, Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and many others. Her experience-driven, thought-provoking articles have been featured in everything from Readers Digest to Business News Daily, and she strives to continually redefine standards for those in the private investigative and security fields. Learn more about Whitney and the team at The Smith Investigation Agency today.
