8 Weird Dating App Clues That Could Mean You’re Being Catfished

Dating apps have made it easier than ever to meet someone new. Which also means it’s sadly just as easy for someone to pretend to be someone else.

According to private investigator MacKenzie Fultz, who has spent two decades tracking down liars and scammers, most deception leaves a trail. The problem isn’t that the clues aren’t there—it’s that people often ignore them.

On a recent episode of Girls Gotta Eat, Fultz and Dating Detectives co-host Hanna Anderson shared the exact things they look for when someone’s story doesn’t add up. From suspicious online footprints to strange behavioral patterns, they explain that spotting a catfish is all about paying attention to the details.

Here are the biggest investigative steps they recommend.

1. Check their digital footprint (or lack of one)

The first thing investigators look for is whether someone exists online in any verifiable way.

According to Fultz, it’s normal for someone to have limited social media, but having absolutely no trace online can be a red flag. “If I can’t find a name attached to an address somewhere, that person doesn’t exist,” she says.

Even people who avoid social media typically leave behind some kind of digital record, whether through work profiles, public records, or tagged photos posted by others. If none of those things exist, it may be worth asking why.

2. Use Google more strategically

A quick search isn’t always enough. The investigators suggest using specific search techniques to narrow results.

One trick they recommend is searching a person’s name in quotation marks, which forces Google to look for that exact name combination. You can then add another keyword (such as a job title, company, or university) to see whether those details appear anywhere online.

And if nothing comes up on the first page, don’t stop there. “Go to page two. Go to page ten,” Fultz recommends. “You’ll usually find something.”

3. Reverse image search their photos

Unfortunately, dating apps make it easy for someone to reuse photos that aren’t actually theirs.

Running a reverse image search on profile pictures can reveal whether the image appears elsewhere online, including modeling portfolios, stock photography, or another person’s social media account. If the same photo shows up attached to multiple identities, that’s an immediate red flag.

4. Look at the people around them

Investigators rarely get their best information from the person they’re investigating. Instead, they look at the person’s community.

Friends, coworkers, and tagged photos can often reveal more about someone’s life than their own profile. “Where’s their family? Where’s their community?” Fultz suggests asking yourself. If someone claims they have no friends, no family, and no one who can vouch for them, that lack of connections can sometimes signal that something isn’t adding up.

5. Pay attention to timeline inconsistencies

Many lies start to unravel when details stop lining up. According to the hosts, timeline inconsistencies are one of the easiest clues to miss in early dating.

For example, someone might claim they lived in a certain city or attended a specific school—but the dates don’t match up when they describe other parts of their life. That can be a key sign of a larger pattern going on.

6. Watch for extreme defensiveness when you ask questions

One of the biggest behavioral signs is how someone reacts when they’re confronted with inconsistencies. Fultz explains that people who are lying often respond with intense defensiveness. “The greater the lie, the greater the defense,” she says.

Some may deny the accusation outright, while others attack the person questioning them or try to flip the situation so they appear to be the victim. That pattern is sometimes referred to as DARVO: deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender.

7. Be wary of someone who avoids introducing you to their life

Another common red flag appears when someone keeps their partner separated from the rest of their world. This can include things like:

• Never meeting their friends
  
• Always avoiding their home
  
• Canceling plans that involve their community
  
• Refusing to introduce you to family members

That isolation can be a tactic used by people who are hiding another relationship or a completely different identity.

8. Trust your pattern recognition

One of the most overlooked skills in spotting deception is intuition. According to Fultz, many people sense when something feels off but convince themselves they’re overthinking. But those instincts often come from pattern recognition.

“You hear one thing and it doesn’t mean anything,” she explains. “Then you hear something later that contradicts it, and suddenly you realize the pieces don’t fit.” When enough small details start to conflict, it may be worth paying closer attention.

The reality is that most people aren’t professional scammers. But the rise of dating apps has created more opportunities for deception than ever before. And while no checklist can guarantee someone is telling the truth, a little curiosity can go a long way.

As Fultz puts it, doing a bit of research before getting emotionally invested doesn’t make someone paranoid. “It’s not crazy,” she says. “It’s just research.”

To hear the full conversation on spotting a catfish and modern dating, listen to Girls Gotta Eatwherever you get your podcasts.

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