Catfishing is a large problem in the modern social media world. Catfishers are more than skilled nowadays to commit crimes and harass the victims. The main purpose of catfishing is stealing identity, making the victims dependent on the catfishers, and stealing money.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Tinder, Instagram, and many others are the perfect ground for catfishers to make suspicious actions. They can ask you for money, look for a sexual relationship online, or they can just waste your time while speaking about romantic things that will never happen in a live meeting.
Most catfishers are people who are good at manipulation and deception. They scan their victims and search for the soft spots that they can target. To get the attention and trust, they promise a lot and present themselves in the perfect manner.
How to Spot a Catfisher?
Catfishing at work is a common issue in many organizations. Sexual harassment in the workplace can have a significant impact on the well-being of the worker. When a person is harassed at work, their performance is significantly reduced and most employees cannot work well under these circumstances.
To spot a catfisher, the entire workplace investigation should be organized. The managers should conduct the employee investigation to reveal the employees who are catfishing at work. This investigation must gather all the data that are related to the employees and their actions.
From using social media to the using of professional tools for communication, the managers must include all pieces of information and they should reveal the actual catfishing actions.
A catfish at work is a fish-thief ready to steal all that you have!
In order to spot a catfisher, an employee must be aware of some clear signs. A catfisher is a person who is presented in an unreal way. A catfisher is usually not the one who is presenting online. They can change their gender, workplace, and location, and they can search for the victims who believe in their presentation.
They also avoid real-time voice and video calls because they are usually not the age or gender they claim to be. If a catfisher is at your workplace, you should immediately report the case to your supervisor or an HR manager. In this manner, you can protect yourself from future problems.
When Does Catfishing Occur?
Catfishing at work occurs every time you spot some unrealistic communication from the possible catfishers. They will be very polite at the beginning, and very aggressive in the end.
When a catfisher starts a relationship, they can say something like “I can’t stop looking at your picture” or “You are a very handsome guy/lady”. This is an opener for future communication that most people see as a romantic one. The victims of catfishing then reveal their personal information and this is a good base for future harassment.
A catfisher will use this information to reveal the soft spots of the person and to take advantage of the victim. When catfishing occurs, the victim is usually not aware of it until the problem is visible.
If a catfisher is skilled enough, they will take money from the victim and never appear again. Catfishing at work is usually the bullying that can be revealed with the workplace investigation, but skilled catfishers can escape the trap. To catch a catfisher at work, the entire organization should be included in the process.
Dealing with catfishers is a very demanding process and it reveals some of the most dangerous situations. Sometimes, the police can be involved in the process of revealing the catfishing activities, and this is when a real employee investigation can provide accurate results.
Employees and managers should be aware of this problem and they should give their best effort to prevent it.