Most guys won’t read this article until they have an unfortunate experience. If you haven’t been catfished or scammed yet, I highly recommend reading it so that you can be one of the few guys who never will be.

After all, guys who aren’t concerned about it are always the easiest targets.

When someone mentions getting scammed, you probably think of getting scammed financially by someone in a third world country. That is definitely something to be wary of, but you should have your guard up about much more than those types of scams. 

It is an unfortunate reality that scammers come in many forms, including women trying to get free meals. It’s not even unheard of for bars/restaurants to make catfish profiles and pretend to schedule dates, knowing the victim will probably still buy food/drinks even if their date doesn’t show up.

In this article, I will arm you with enough knowledge to ensure you never get scammed or end up on a date with a woman who looks nothing like her pictures.

Catfish Signs

In the age of AI and filters, catfishing is rampant. However, if you are deliberate with the choices you make, you don’t need to worry about ending up on a date with a completely different girl than the one you saw on a profile.

Nobody wants to be deceived like that, but the real problem with catfishing is the fact that the girl is doing it in the first place. She is hiding who she is. Even if she’s not actually bad-looking, hiding who she is indicates that she has low self-esteem, and your life will most likely be more difficult with her in it.

What to watch out for:

• Only pictures of her face. Many girls spend a lot of time taking selfies and know exactly how to take extremely flattering pictures of themselves. If she only includes pictures of her face, especially from the same angle, that’s a huge red flag that she’s not showing her body for a reason. 
  
  Most likely, she’s overweight. Regardless, she’s hiding what her body looks like, which is a red flag as discussed above.

• Excessive filters. Using a filter is an easy way to make subtle adjustments to improve your looks, and girls are very aware of this. Even if she looks super cute, if all or most of her pictures have filters, it’s safe to say she doesn’t look as cute in person.
  
  Filters are getting very advanced these days and can be hard to spot. My best advice is to trust your instincts. If there is something unnatural about the picture, it’s probably edited or has a filter.
• Only selfies. This one isn’t as big of a red flag as the previous two, but it’s still one to keep an eye out for. Selfies are not a true reflection of what a girl looks like, so if she only has selfies on her profile, even if they include her body, proceed with caution. The right angles and lighting can do all sorts of magic.
  
• She hides her tagged pics in her social media profile. This is a big one, but it does require you to have access to her social media. People almost never look as good in their tagged pictures as they do in their carefully curated posted pictures.
  
  Girls who are very particular about controlling their image will hide most or all of their tagged pictures. If she’s trying that hard to control her image, it’s a sign that you should be cautious. 

None of these are 100% surefire signs of catfishing, but they are all signals that you should be aware of in your online dating journey.

Scammer Signs

You might think scamming and catfishing go hand in hand. You wouldn’t be wrong, but there are plenty of girls out there who use their looks (and guys’ desperation) to get what they want out of men.

Scamming can range anywhere from getting a guy to send them money, to getting free dinners, to drugging and robbing (and sometimes even murdering) a guy in his apartment. The last is especially important to be careful of if you’re in an unfamiliar country. 

What to watch out for:

• Things seem too easy. This is always a huge red flag that you should keep an eye out for. If you’re talking to a girl and things are going extremely well, as in moving quickly without you having to put much effort into progressing things, you should have your guard up.
  
  For example, if a girl quickly asks for your number on a dating app, that’s almost guaranteed to be a scammer. They don’t want to waste their time talking, because they know most guys will give their numbers right away. Real girls are more cautious.
  
  Or if you match with a ridiculously attractive girl (especially if you don’t usually) and she’s extremely responsive right away, probably a scammer. As sad as that is, don’t let your ego or desperation control you.
  

• She avoids verification. This one is more obvious, but if you suspect a girl is a scammer, asking her for social media, additional selfies, a phone call, etc. is a good idea. I’ll go into more detail about that below. If she gives you lots of excuses, probably a scammer.
  

• She requests a date location. Most girls will wait for the guy to ask them out and suggest a location. If a girl is very insistent on a location, you should be wary, especially if it’s a nice restaurant or somewhere else you’ll be spending a good amount of money.
  
• She asks you to send her money. Obvious but needs to be said. Under no circumstances should you send money to a girl you never met.

How To Defend Yourself

I told you a bunch of signs to watch out for. Now I’m going to give you specific actions you can follow to never worry about getting catfished or scammed.

• Don’t be desperate. If you’re lonely or have a hard time with dating, you are much more susceptible to being taken advantage of. One reason scammers/catfish have so much success is because they know guys lack options and will be grateful for any attention.
  
  When dealing with women, you should never be coming from a place of scarcity or desperation. Of course, that’s much easier to do when you actually have an abundant dating life. Enter your email at the bottom of this page if you would like for me to show you how ;)
  
  Overall, always stay rational when dealing with online dating. If you let your emotions control you, you will have hard times… and not the good kind. 
• Ask for a video/phone call. If you follow me, you will hear me say this a lot. Always have a video or phone call before you go on a date with a girl. There are tons of benefits, but in this instance, a video call guarantees you won’t be catfished, and it hugely decreases your chances of getting scammed.
  
  If a girl agrees to a call, make sure you ask her deep and genuine questions, especially about her recent dating history. If she dates a lot of guys without getting results, seems evasive with her answers, or says something along the lines of, “guys just want to have sex with me” (or anything else vague and overall negative), she’s probably not someone you should go on a date with.
  
• Ask for her social media. You should also know that I’m a huge advocate for leveraging social media when it comes to dating. In particular, Instagram. Girls who are catfishing you or trying to scam you don’t want to let you close to their life. They want to hide.
  
  Not all girls will feel comfortable giving you their social media right away, but most girls will be okay with it if they’re at the point where they’re willing to go on a date with you. After all, that means she gets to see your social media as well, so you can both check each other out. This is also a great way to increase her attraction towards you.
  

• Don’t invest much for the first date. If you’ve read my ultimate first date guide, you’ll know that I encourage low-investment first dates. The goal of the first date should be to find out if you want to invest in each other. If a girl has a real problem with that, at worst, she’s a scammer. At best, she’s entitled. Either way, not a girl you want to date.
  

• Judge a girl by her worst picture. Whatever a girl’s worst picture is on her profile, that’s probably the most accurate representation of what she looks like. Girls will judge you the exact same way, so make sure your pictures are all high quality, showing your best side. Click here for picture advice.
  

• Reverse Google image search. If you are suspicious about a girl’s pictures, there is no harm in doing a quick reverse Google image search. If they are pictures that the person got from the internet, they will most likely pop up.
  
• Trust your gut. This advice applies to everything in life and especially in dating. If something feels off about the girl, LISTEN TO THAT FEELING. Even if you can’t put your finger on it exactly, it’s important to pay attention when your instincts tell you something is wrong.

The more experience you get with online dating, the less you’ll have to worry about this type of stuff. You’ll develop a sixth sense for it, and if you follow my online dating advice, you’ll have so much dating success that your standards will be raised too high for any catfish or scammer to reach them.

Be sure to enter your email address below if you would like to reach that level and have the dating life of your dreams. I will be providing you with tons of useful advice that you don’t want to miss.

Until next time.

-Coley