I’m sure most (if not all) of you have encountered catfish while on Reddit, ranging from pic collectors to blackmailers. While the mod team does our best to weed them out, some do slip through the cracks. Due to this, It’s important for you to be able to identify catfish, and have safe practices while sexting online.

Below are some tips to stay safe in this community:

1) USE A THROWAWAY ACCOUNT

• Do not use your main Snapchat account, or anything that contains your actual name and can be linked back to you or people you know. This includes using the same username as your other social media handles.

2) Ask for Live verification using a specific pose

• In case you didn’t know, Live Photos can be faked on snapchat, and frequently are. Do not assume a generic Live Photo means that they are a real person. Instead, ask for a Live Photo with a specific hand sign or pose. For example: a photo with their ring finger and thumb touching. Make sure that their hand is in front of their body and proves their gender, not just a hand by itself. If the person refuses, gets angry, leaves you on read, or takes 10 minutes to do it (usually means they’re trying to find a matching photo online), then it’s likely they’re a catfish, since this request takes 10 seconds if they’re real.
  

3) Don’t give out personal info

• This goes without saying, but stay away from giving out personal information, especially when you’ve only had the person added for a short time.
  

A common scam that we have witnessed:

• “thanks for messaging me my name is Sophia Rhodes, It is okay if i ask whats yours?”

  • This is an attempt to get your full name, and is usually followed by them asking your age and location, before eventually asking for a nude photo that contains your face. They will then find your social media and attempt to blackmail you for money. If you’re reading this too late, do not give them money. They will not stop there, so it’s best to just block and report them.

As always, please report any catfish you come in contact with. Use this link to send a message directly to the mod team, or report the post and we will investigate.

Please feel free to message me with any questions, and I’ll help out as much as I can. If you have any additional insights or tips, let me know and I can add them to my post.

Stay safe,

Gym