Reference: Lauder C, March E., Catching the catfish: Exploring gender and the Dark Tetrad of personality as predictors of catfishing perpetration, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 140, 2023, 107599, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107599. With the extensive internet use, catfishers can easily steal your identity and your money. Catfishing is a form of online deception and fraud or scamming that involves creating a fake identity to exploit others online which is apparently extensive and perpetrated by 25% of women and 38% of men. The repercussions are profound, leading to financial loss and psychological trauma. Psychologists attempted to uncover the connection between catfishing and personality tendencies towards deceiving others by individuals often having the four personality traits: Psychopathy, Sadism, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism (called the Dark Tetrad) For instance, individuals high in Psychopathy may exploit others with a disregard for their pain, while those high in Sadism find satisfaction in hurting others. Narcissists may deceive to boost their image, while Machiavellians manipulate for personal gain. All may have little concern for the impact they have on others, thus having low empathy. Over 600 participants aged 18-88 completed assessments of the Dark Tetrad, social desirability, and catfishing behavior. Results? People with high psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism perpetrated more catfishing behaviors. Red Alert: Catfishers are egotistical (narcissistic), callous and deceptive (psychopathy), and enjoy causing others harm. Beware of online people showing this kind of profile.

Written by Jarret Bain B.S.