Gloria25 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Just like how we need to update our laws to deal with online bullying, isn't it time that we advocate for laws against Catfishing, online stalking, and/or fakes on dating websites? Think about it, these creeps steal other people's info, pictures, etc in order to perpetrate a fraud on others causing emotional and financial distress (ie paying for a dating website full of fakes). And, what they do is up there with identify theft, invasion of privacy, etc. What do you think? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
JustGettingBy Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I agree that Catfishing laws should be much stricter, but with all the technical skills these 'catfishers' have, it would be easy for them to cover their tracks, or better yet for them, not make any at all. Being able to constantly change your IP address and appear to be from a different area of the world can make them near impossible to catch. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Gloria25 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 I agree that Catfishing laws should be much stricter, but with all the technical skills these 'catfishers' have, it would be easy for them to cover their tracks, or better yet for them, not make any at all. Being able to constantly change your IP address and appear to be from a different area of the world can make them near impossible to catch. Well the MTV Catfish show seems to do a great job in tracking down the perps, so I believe we can hold these people accountable. Link to post Share on other sites
Myragal Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 There are a hundred things I'd rather have the police spending their time on. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
PegNosePete Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 What laws would they be breaking exactly? Are you also going to make it illegal to lie to someone you met in a bar to get them in bed? Emotional and financial distress?? What about that drink I bought that chick who said she was single but then in walked her boyfriend? Can I sue? What's the difference exactly? Unfortunately you'll never criminalize lying. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
salparadise Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 ...and/or fakes on dating websites? What laws would they be breaking exactly? Are you also going to make it illegal to lie to someone you met in a bar to get them in bed? Emotional and financial distress?? What about that drink I bought that chick who said she was single but then in walked her boyfriend? Can I sue? What's the difference exactly? Unfortunately you'll never criminalize lying. No kidding. We should pass a law that says women are entitled to whatever they want, and men are obliged to oblige. It's time to get all of those "uncooperatives" off the street once and for all. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Wewon Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 If we start going after people for lying, flaking, deliberately misleading others for personal gain and or satisfaction there will be a lot of flaky 20-something women wearing orange jumpsuits. People need to accept that online dating, or online activity in general is a risky venture and to take proper precautions. Its one thing to realize that someone wasted your time with a string of emails, but if you're* getting materially scammed by a person you met on a dating site then its time to rethink on you approach things. *I'm speaking of 'you' in the general sense not anyone in particular. Link to post Share on other sites
jen1447 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Identity theft is a whole diff ballgame, vastly worse in very tangible terms (huge financial burdens, years-long work to clear and maintain your record/credit, etc.) than being misled about romance by someone. If a person catfishes you to commit fraud and/or identity theft, then the crimes they've committed are fraud and/or identity theft, which are already illegal. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
readynow Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 In the UK, a girl has recently been sentenced to 8yrs in jail for something pretty close... Gayle Newland is jailed after pretending to be a man to have sex with women | Daily Mail Online 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Gloria25 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 In the UK, a girl has recently been sentenced to 8yrs in jail for something pretty close... Gayle Newland is jailed after pretending to be a man to have sex with women | Daily Mail Online Love it!!! Judge convicted her of: 'cruel and callous deception'. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Gloria25 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 What laws would they be breaking exactly? Are you also going to make it illegal to lie to someone you met in a bar to get them in bed? Emotional and financial distress?? What about that drink I bought that chick who said she was single but then in walked her boyfriend? Can I sue? What's the difference exactly? Unfortunately you'll never criminalize lying. There are a hundred things I'd rather have the police spending their time on. I thought of that since yesterday, it should be a civil matter - where the burden is on the plaintiff to bring the evidence to support the charge and it'll hurt the victimizer in his/her pockets instead of jailing. Maybe also force them to register on a sex offender registry type thing to shame the heck out of them too. Also, this is not "criminalizing lying". Catfishing isn't simply some person you meet at the bar telling you tall tales. The Catfish systematically steals other people's info to perp a fraud on the victim and manipulate that person - which results in the Catfish violating the privacy and identity of the person's info they stole; and, committing a "cruel and callous deception" to the victim. It's not simply "lying". Link to post Share on other sites
lana-banana Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 This is a pretty interesting idea. Ultimately I think criminal misrepresentation should be considered a kind of fraud, but catfishing itself can't be. Someone who lies about their identity online can't and shouldn't be prosecuted---how would a dating site, for instance, ever authenticate its customers? Are they going to send people out to verify that you're still 6'2" and 180 pounds?---but as soon as there's material fraud or theft then the gloves ought to come off. If someone extorts money under false pretenses, like claiming to suffer from cancer and accepting money from well-wishers, then that's absolutely a crime. Material is the key word here. Frustrating as it may be, wasting someone's time can't be against the law either. Link to post Share on other sites
PegNosePete Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) The Catfish systematically steals other people's info to perp a fraud on the victim When I look up the meaning of "catfish" I get a very different and much milder definition. To me, and most of the internet, "catfishing" simply means misrepresenting yourself online, particularly on dating or social media sites. It doesn't necessarily involve identity theft and is often used for non-criminal reasons such as attention seeking or boredom filling or to have a laugh; or yes, seduction. But if you make it illegal to lie in order to seduce someone then most of the western world, male and female, would be guilty. If it's used to commit fraud or criminal activity then sure, it's already illegal, just as in the article linked above. But that is not simply catfishing, that is taking it to real life and committing real life crimes. Yes, lying to a girl at a bar in order to facilitate a crime is illegal. But it's not the lying that's illegal, it's the crime. Committing identity theft and fraud are illegal. Catfishing isn't. I think the reason we're disagreeing is because your definition of "catfishing" is much stronger than mine! Edited November 18, 2015 by PegNosePete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
loveweary11 Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Just what we need... more laws. "I don't want to live on this planet anymore." - Dr. Hubert Farnsworth Link to post Share on other sites
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