Falling Hook, Line And Sinker: Have You Been A Victim Of Catfishing?

Heard of catfishing? Disturbing trends from the world of online dating and how these dangerous scams are on the rise. Watch out for the red flags.

A 19-year-old university student from South Africa, Tom Harris (name changed to protect identity), is urging people to be more cautious when it comes to social media scams. After being caught last year, he says “more and more of my friends are being catfished [online romance scams]”.

He claims even amongst teens who know what to look out for, the number of those getting caught out by unscrupulous scammers is on the rise. This could be more amongst older populations who might not be as savvy online. It’s a growing global problem and perpetrators are using advancing technologies to stay one step ahead.

Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2024 estimates there’s been a 23% year-on-year increase in the number of weekly cyber-related crimes in Africa, including catfishing and ‘pig butchering’ – a scheme that combines aspects of catfishing and cryptocurrency investment fraud, where scammers use fake online identities to build trust with victims before convincing them to invest in crypto-currency scams and then disappearing with the funds.

Many of the fraudsters are reportedly from West Africa. The ‘Ghana scam’ is a well-known tactic to deceive victims into believing they are in a relationship. Once trust has been built, the tricksters manipulate victims into sending them money. South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon are also home to cybercrime syndicates, the losses of which are estimated in hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. In Nigeria, the rise in scamming is largely due to a boom in cybercafes, a series of economic crashes from the 1980s, and the resulting joblessness amongst young people. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, ‘Nigerian Prince’ emails became infamous. As per online reports, they “typically involved someone claiming to be royalty and asking for money they promised to pay back with a hefty commission added”. The ‘Nigerian letter’ followed – a type of computer fraud “that aims to underhandedly get access to a user’s bank account or to extort money from them in a different way”. According to the United States’ Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud reports have skyrocketed, with attempts to steal nearly $9 billion from American financial institutions since 2016. Here, the scammer uses email to trick someone into sending money or divulging confidential company information. The culprit poses as a trusted figure, then asks for a fake bill to be paid or for sensitive data they can use in another scam.

Then there’s the ‘419 scheme’, named for the violation of Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. It combines “the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, email, or fax is received by the potential victim”.

The syndicates work across the continent. Shane Theunissen, Managing Director of private security company, Special Ops 99, in Johannesburg, says the groups rent apartments in affluent areas. “Ten guys rent one unit and work out of it. We’ve arrested a lot of them and confiscated a lot of laptops with regards to 419 scams,” he tells FORBES AFRICA. “All these guys do is sit at home all day. They all drive fancy cars. They never go to work. That raises suspicion.” Theunissen says after his static security teams monitor strange activities in neighborhoods, his security teams pass the information on to the company’s tactical task team that then works closely with commercial crime units and crime intelligence to investigate. Confiscated laptops are sent to forensics for processing.

Tracing these criminals across borders is not easy.

Theunissen says his company works with international tracing agents and task teams, but the culprits are not easy to catch because they use sophisticated methods to cover their tracks. These include burner phones that can’t be traced, as well as VPNs. These are secure private networks that use encryption to hide their location. While they’re not foolproof, in many cases, criminals can continue their ruse for sometime as the VPN essentially sends out false location information.

The Nigerian ‘Yahoo Boys’ have been quick to exploit deepfake technology in their romance scams. Similar to traditional catfishing, they begin by luring victims through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). These initial contacts are usually made through direct messages, where the scammers use manipulation to gain the victim’s trust. As the conversation progresses, they move the interaction to messaging apps like WhatsApp, making the communication feel more personal and frequent.

The crucial next step in their scheme is video calling. Here, the scammers employ deepfake technology to alter their appearance and voice in real time, allowing them to present themselves as the person depicted in the photos from earlier interactions. Victims, believing they are truly speaking with the person they have come to trust, continue to build the emotional connection.

Once the trust is established, the scammers implement the final part of their plan: defrauding the victim of money. By then, the victim is deeply invested in the relationship, making them more likely to fall for requests for financial help. Many of these techniques are reportedly borrowed from Chinese romance scams. Increasingly, scammers are turning to crypto to bypass safety checks. Hacked Facebook and Twitter accounts are bought with crypto or cash and then 15- and 16-year-olds are hired to generate content and create a profile. Sometimes a full persona is set up using Clip Art or photos from other social media accounts.

Building trust can take months.

When the money comes, the boss gets 60% and the young men take home the remaining 40%.

So how do we protect ourselves against these fraudsters? South African Harris found himself caught in the dangerous web of catfishing and blackmail after he met a woman named “Chloe” on Instagram. What began as seemingly innocent messaging soon spiralled into a nightmare when Chloe, who had convinced Harris to share intimate photos, threatened to expose him unless he paid her a fee.

Based on how catfishing works, it’s fair to assume that Chloe didn’t even exist. She threatened to send Harris’ intimate photos to his friends and family if he didn’t comply. He paid, hoping the nightmare would end.

“I was terrified,” Harris recalls. “She said she’d post my pictures everywhere, send them to my friends, my family… I thought paying her would make it stop. But that wasn’t the case.”

Chloe demanded more, and more money.

Emma Sadleir, South Africa’s leading expert on social media law, advised him to stop all communication, deactivate all social media accounts, and refrain from responding to any further messages. Sadleir notes that paying an extortionist only fuels the situation and encourages further demands. The best course of action, she says, is to block the perpetrator, gather evidence, and, if necessary, report the incident to the authorities. “Honestly, I thought I was going to be exposed. I thought she would send the photos out. But it didn’t happen. Maybe it’s because I blocked her and shut everything down. I don’t know for sure, but I’m relieved it’s over,” says Harris. Sadleir tells FORBES AFRICA: “What I’m finding more and more is that it’s just such a difficult crime to deal with because people are so very embarrassed to come forward. They often feel ashamed that they’ve sent these nudes to people they don’t know.” Among the red flags to look out for: scammers often make unsolicited contact; they may quickly express deep feelings; create emotional bonds, or fabricate sob stories like medical emergencies or family crises to ask for financial help; poor grammar and spelling; urgency and pressure to push you into making quick decisions; and background that cannot be verified. While the stakes are high, the cost of giving in can be higher.