The term was introduced with the release of the 2010 American documentary film Catfish, following executive producer Nev Schulman, … See more

Catfishing is often employed on dating websites, social media, and email by perpetrators to disassociate from their real-life identities and shield themselves from moral … See more

Catfishing can lead to serious potential dangers. In some cases, catfish have lured victims into threatening in-person meetings, such as in the 2002 murder of Kacie Woody and … See more

• Gaslighting – Misleading someone into doubting reality
• Honey trapping – Investigative practice using romantic or sexual relationships
• Phishing – Form of social engineering See more

While catfishing can take many forms, some common behaviors and characteristics have been defined:
• Refuses or repeatedly postpones meeting in person, often at the last minute with increasingly elaborate, contradictory, or impossible … See more

Alicia Kozakiewicz
Sometime between 2000 and 2001, 13-year-old Alicia Kozakiewicz began communicating online with someone she knew as a girl named "Christine," but whom she later learned was a 31-year-old man. Kozakiewicz … See more

• The dictionary definition of catfishing at Wiktionary See more