Dating apps are a hotbed for catfish, but users on the receiving end of would-be swindlers and scammers are getting wiser. TikToker @queenoffirstdates recently shared one way she caught a catfish before he wasted her precious time—or worse.
“Catfish” refers to someone online pretending to be someone they aren’t to trick people into dating them or sometimes giving them other kinds of attention or money. The MTV show Catfish has been exposing these fakers’ tools of the trade for a decade now.
In her now-viral video, @queenoffirstdates shared a screen recording of a match she made on a dating app with someone supposedly named David. He looks handsome—but not too handsome to be believed—and his descriptions about himself and what he’s looking for are fairly generic. In terms of catfishing, the profile could go either way.
But @queenoffirstdates pointed out that she spotted an Apple Watch in several of his photos. The detail is relevant because when the match texted the TikToker, the messages showed up in green bubbles. If they both were using Apple’s iOS, the messages should show up in blue.
After confirming that his photos on the app are recent and that he prefers iOS to Android, the TikToker told him straight-up, “I think you’re a catfish.”
“Stay vigilant, Queens!” she wrote in a text overlay to her viewers. By Tuesday, the video had over 142,000 views.
One viewer noted that some people might use burner phone number apps for online dating in order to not give out their real number right away. But @queenoffirstdates replied that she “was giving the benefit of the doubt until he didn’t know what green bubbles meant.”
“Or he’s married and is using an app to text you!” another viewer, @adiiirmz, pointed out.
This video is part of an ongoing trend of TikTokers calling out catfish on dating apps and sharing pointers to spot the fake. The catfish may keep evolving, but with social media users on the lookout, they’ll keep getting found out.
The Daily Dot reached out to @queenoffirstdates via TikTok comment.
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