Catfish
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
June 12, 2019 9:42am CST
Yesterday I read about a Danish man who created a fake profile and pretends to be someone else. He has been doing it for 9 years and he has been in contact with at least 70 different women. Some of them exchanged messages with him for several years before they discovered the truth.
Many other catfish have a goal – they want money or photos. This man (or woman?) has never asked for money or photos. So what is the purpose? Some of the victims believe that he simply wants to hurt people.
He pretends to be their friend, but everything is fake. People tell him about their lives and confide in him and the only things they get from him are lies. He uses a fake photo and writes a lot of details about a life that doesn't exist.
He also created a lot of 'friends'. None of the profiles are real, he created every single one of them, and he posts fictive conversations between him and his 'friends' No one knows who he or she really is.
When I read about it my first thought was ”why?” He definitely isn't the first person who has done this – but who would continue this scam for 9 years without gaining money or other things? What do you think?
13 people like this
14 responses
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
I hate it too. Sometimes it goes on for a long time before the person discovers the truth. The man I read about has been doing for 9 years.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
A kind of mental disorder would make sense. He is not looking for money like many of the other catfish are. He uses a photo of a goodlooking man and he writes about a wonderful life. His own life might be very different from the life he created.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
12 Jun 19
@Porcospino May be he suffer of schizophrenia.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
14 Jun 19
@Porcospino He is not a stupid and he knows computers, he surely has a mental problem.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jun 19
i wonder if it's started as a creativity challenge for him/her that grew and grew and now he/she doesn't know how to stop?
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
@hereandthere Nine years is a long time. It must be exhausting and timeconsuming.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino that's the perfect solution.
i can't imagine sustaining that for 9 yrs without it dominating your life.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
I agree. He writes about a fantastic life with succes and lots of friends. Maybe his own life is very different from the things me makes up.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
I found that confusing as well. Romance scammers use fake profile to get money, but this man has never asked for money, so there must be a different reason in his case.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
@Kasjnak Yes, some people do strange things, and it is hard to understand them.
That is great. How long are you going to stay in the area around Odense? Are you going to the peninsula (Jylland) later? I think you mentioned that in a previous discussion.
1 person likes this
@Kasjnak (4492)
• Romania
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino that's what scares me, not knowing why he does a thing like that. People are crazy!
By the way, we arrived in Denmark last evening and we are located near Odense now 
.
.1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22907)
• Serbia
12 Jun 19
The illness does not choose. This is what is said in my country, there are so many disturbed minds. I watched YouTube documentaries about it, terribly what's happening, but it's even more scary how many naive ... women mostly
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
@LowRiderX Yes, that type of stories is very common ("I can't afford to pay my hospital bill", I am in a foreign country and my visa expired, I can't afford to renew it" etc) I also think that the compliments they send to the women are very exaggerated, but unfortunately some of the women fall for it.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
I agree that some women are naive. Sometimes when I read about romance scams where the women send a lot of money to a person they have never met I find it hard to understand them. I mean, I would never send money to someone I haven't met.
1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22907)
• Serbia
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino Exactly, me neither. But through these documentary shows, they heard that they first seduced a woman and then reported that they were in the hospital, supposedly fighting for their lives and they need to paying for hospital expenses ... there are a million similar stories
1 person likes this
@tech40 (23128)
• Philippines
12 Jun 19
I've watched a show here about that! The boy is so young and he keeps on sending money to her even tho she isn't sure if she's real or not! Until one day he found out that the other one is a boy! 
now he went to a tv show and seeking for help!
now he went to a tv show and seeking for help!1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
He must have been shocked to discover that the other person was a boy. Unfortunately there are many cases where people have sent money to someone without meeting them in person. They use fake photos and sometimes men pretend to be women and the other way around.
1 person likes this
@tech40 (23128)
• Philippines
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino Yeah you're right about that, I'm just waiting for a karma to hit them
@wolfgirl569 (95172)
• Marion, Ohio
12 Jun 19
Sounds like he has a mental problem. Maybe afraid to get out and make real friends for some reason.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
Yes, that could be the reason. He created a fantastic life with lots of 'friends' (fake profiles) and maybe his own life is very different. He could have social anxiety or other problems.
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Jun 19
I think 'schizophrenia' is the answer, a split personality disorder.
Is 'catfish' the Danish nickname for such people? I don't think that English speaking people would know that. There is none in German. There is the term 'Heiratsschwindler'. But if marriage doesn't enter in the game, it can't be used.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
No, catfish is the English word. It is also the name of a tv show where they try to find those people.
Quote from Wikipedia: "On the Internet, a "catfish" is a person who creates fake personal profiles on social media sites using someone else's pictures and false biographical information to pretend to be someone other than themselves"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Catfish: The TV ShowGenreRealityBased onCatfishby Henry JoostAriel SchulmanDeveloped by Presented by Country of originUnited StatesOriginal language(s)EnglishNo. of seasons7No. of epis
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Jun 19
@Porcospino Thank you. This is the first time I hear that the word catfish has a double meaning. Poor fish! What has it done to deserve this? :-)
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
Yes, it could be someone who decided to create a new life because they are bored with their own life, or maybe because they are lonely and want some people to talk to. He/she also created a lot 'friends' that don't exist, it must be a lot of work to keep track of everything.
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27519)
• United States
12 Jun 19
@Porcospino I have a hard enough time keeping track of my real life I couldn't keep up with a fake one too.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
23 Jun 19
I also thought about that when I read about him. This isn't a normal thing to do. He doesn't get money or other things out of it. He never asked for money, so that can't be the purpose.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
Yes, it seems to be a big waste of time. I am glad I don't have to keep track of all those fake profiles, because it sounds like a lot of work.
1 person likes this
@Janet357 (75656)
•
13 Jun 19
@Porcospino if he have used his energy for something, he could have improved his life.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
13 Jun 19
That is true. It is hard to understand some people. This man isn't looking for money, so he must get something else out of it. He has been doing it for years.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Jun 19
Many other people have done the same as him, but many of them are looking for money. This person has never asked for money.
