Social Media Catfishing: Statistics, Facts and Trends Guide for 2025

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Catfishing is when someone creates a fake online identity to trick others into believing they are real. Catfishers often use stolen images and personal information to create a persona that is more attractive or appealing to their target.

The goal is to gain the trust of their victims and then use it for their own purposes

But, how common is catfishing in 2025?

Who are the most likely victims of this nefarious practice and what are the protection methods currently available?

My updated social media catfishing statistics guide for 2025 has everything you need to know, and more.

You can use this jump link to quickly jump to the KEY STATS section.

Also, all the references and resources I used in crafting my guide are listed at the bottom of the page.

Jump here: Key Social Media Catfishing Statistics, Facts and Trends for This Year| Social Media Catfishing Statistics, Facts and Trends for This Year (Detailed Info)

Social Media Catfishing: Statistics, Facts and Trends Guide for 2025
Social Media Catfishing: Statistics, Facts and Trends Guide for 2025

Key Social Media Catfishing Statistics, Facts and Trends for This Year

Key Social Media Catfishing Statistics Facts and Trends for 2025

  • According to a 2025 study, approximately 23% of social media users have been victims of catfishing at least once. (Source)
  • The Federal Trade Commission reported that in 2025, romance scams (which often involve catfishing) cost victims $1.45 billion. (Source)
  • Men are more likely to be catfished than women, with 60% of reported victims being male. This means 40% of reported catfishing victims are female. (Source)
  • About 83% of catfishing incidents occur on Facebook, making it the most common platform for this type of deception. (Source)
  • The average financial loss for a victim of a catfishing scam is around $2,500. (Source)
  • In a survey of 18-25 year olds, 51% admitted to using a filtered or edited photo on their social media profiles. (Source)
  • Dating apps are particularly vulnerable, with 55% of users reporting they’ve encountered a profile they believed was fake. (Source)
  • The age group most likely to fall victim to catfishing is 45-54 years old. (Source)
  • On average, a catfishing scam lasts about 146 days before being discovered. (Source)
  • In 2022, there were over 25,000 reported cases of romance scams in the United States alone. The cost of these romance cyber crimes rose to a staggering $1.3 billion lost in 2022. (Source)
  • By 2032 it’s predicted that there’ll be more than 55 000 cases of catfishing cases per year in the US alone. The same study predicts that there’ll be more than 750 000 of catfishing cases per year discovered in 2032 (compared to 320 000 worldwide cases discovered in 2022).(Source)
  • About 71% of catfish use someone else’s photos, while 29% create entirely fictitious personas. (Source)
  • Instagram is the second most common platform for catfishing, accounting for 37% of reported incidents. (Source)
  • The most common motivation for catfishing is romantic interest, cited in 41% of cases. (Source)
  • Approximately 18% of catfish admit to doing it for financial gain. (Source)
  • In a study of online dating profiles, 20% were found to be using deceptive profile pictures. (Source)
  • The number of reported catfishing incidents increased by 65% during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source)
  • About 33% of catfish victims report experiencing depression or anxiety as a result of their experience. (Source)
  • The average catfish creates 3-5 fake profiles across different social media platforms. (Source)
  • In 2022, 28% of all internet crimes reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center were related to social media fraud, including catfishing. (Source)
  • Approximately 12% of catfish are repeat offenders who have created multiple fake personas over time. (Source)
  • LinkedIn has seen a 37% increase in catfishing attempts from 2020 to 2023, often for business scams. (Source)
  • About 64% of people who have been catfished say they are now more cautious about their online interactions. (Source)
  • In a survey of teenagers, 45% admitted to accepting friend requests from strangers, increasing their risk of being catfished. (Source)
  • The global cost of cybercrime, including catfishing, is projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. (Source)
  • According to a 2023 report, only 17% of social media users regularly check the authenticity of new online connections. (Source)

Social Media Catfishing Statistics, Facts and Trends for This Year (Detailed Info)

What Percentage of Social Media Users Have Been Victims of Catfishing?

According to a 2023 study (which I link in the footer section of the page), approximately 23% of social media users have been victims of catfishing at least once. (Source)

Men are more likely to be catfished than women, with 60% of reported victims being male. This means 40% of catfishing victims are women (note: it might also mean women catfishing is underreported).(Source)

What Percentage of Social Media Users Have Been Victims of Catfishing?
What Percentage of Social Media Users Have Been Victims of Catfishing?

How Much Did Romance Scams Cost Victims?

The Federal Trade Commission reported that in 2022, romance scams (which often involve catfishing) cost victims $1.3 billion. (Source)

The average financial loss for a victim of a catfishing scam is around $2,500. In 2022, there were over 25,000 reported cases of romance scams in the United States alone. (Source)

By 2032 it’s predicted that there’ll be more than 55 000 cases of catfishing cases per year in the US alone. The same study predicts that there’ll be more than 750 000 of catfishing cases per year discovered in 2032 (compared to 320 000 worldwide cases discovered in 2022).(Source)

The number of reported catfishing incidents increased by 65% during the COVID-19 pandemic which was at its height in 2021. (Source)

The global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Of course, catfishing is only a sliver of that cost, but it counts a lot, especially for the victims of this cyber crime. (Source)

And the damage is not only financial but emotional as well. About 33% of catfish victims report experiencing depression or anxiety as a result of their experience. (Source)

And about 64% of catfishing victims say they are now more cautious about their online interactions which in this case is a silver lining of a tempestuous cloud. (Source)

How Much Did Romance Scams Cost Victims?
How Much Did Romance Scams Cost Victims?

On Which Social Media Platform Do Most Catfishing Incidents Occur?

About 83% of catfishing incidents occur on Facebook, making it the most common platform for this type of deception. (Source)

Another study found that Instagram is the second most common platform for catfishing, accounting for 37% of reported incidents. (Source)

LinkedIn has also seen a 37% increase in catfishing attempts from 2020 to 2023, often for business scams as LinkedIn is above else a business platform. (Source)

On Which Social Media Platform Do Most Catfishing Incidents Occur?
On Which Social Media Platform Do Most Catfishing Incidents Occur?

What Percentage of Dating App Users Report Encountering Fake Profiles?

Dating apps are particularly vulnerable, with 55% of users reporting they’ve encountered a profile they believed was fake. Teenagers are especially vulnerable age group here 45% of them admitting to accepting friend requests from strangers, thus greatly increasing their risk of being catfished. (Source)

Here are some more stats about catfishing on popular social medial platforms:

In a recent study of online dating profiles, 20% were found to be using deceptive profile pictures. In a survey of 18-25 year olds, 51% admitted to using a filtered or edited photo on their social media profiles (this is benign compared to real catfishing but it’s a serious step down that path). (Source)

According to a 2023 report, only 17% of social media users regularly check the authenticity of new online connections. This is a very low percentage of vigilant social media users, but even that vigilance might not be enough. (Source)

I say it because catfishers are clever and about 71% of them use someone else’s photos to create fake profiles, while 29% create entirely fictitious personas. The average catfish creates 3-5 fake profiles across different social media platforms and approximately 12% of catfish are repeat offenders who have created multiple fake personas over time. (Source)

What Percentage of Dating App Users Report Encountering Fake Profiles?
What Percentage of Dating App Users Report Encountering Fake Profiles?

What Percentage of Internet Crimes Reported to the FBI Were Related to Social Media Fraud?

In 2022, 28% of all internet crimes reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center were related to social media fraud, including catfishing. In 2025 27% percentage of all internet crimes reported to FBI were related to social media fraud (including catfishing). This is a slight drop over a 2-year period. (Source)

According to FBI report on the matter, the most common motivation for catfishing is romantic interest, cited in 41% of cases. Approximately 18% of catfish admit to doing it for financial gain. (Source)

The same report says that on average, a catfishing scam lasts about 146 days before being discovered and the age group most likely to fall victim to catfishing is 45-54 years old. (Source)

What Percentage of Internet Crimes Reported to the FBI Were Related to Social Media Fraud?
What Percentage of Internet Crimes Reported to the FBI Were Related to Social Media Fraud?

Social Media Catfishing Statistics Facts and Trends for 2025 (FAQ)

Social media catfishing statistics, facts and trends guide for 2025 (FAQ)
Social media catfishing statistics, facts and trends guide for 2025 (FAQ)

What is Social Media Online Catfishing (Definition and Meaning)?

Definition: social media online catfishing is the act of creating a fake online identity on social media platforms to deceive someone into believing they are interacting with a real person. Often the goal of forming a relationship is extracting money from the other party.

Basically, online catfishing is pretending to be someone you’re not to trick others for financial or any other type of gain.

How Many People Get Catfished a Year?

More than 320 000 people globally get catifshed every year. In the US an average of 25 000 people get catfished every year. (Source)

These numbers are only growing with estimated 750 000 catfish cases per year in 2032. And 55 000 of those incidents will happen in the US.(Source)

What is Catfishing a Woman?

Catfishing a women refers to creating a fake online identity on social media platforms to deceive her into believing she’s interacting with someone else, often with the goal of forming a relationship or extracting money from her.

However, not all catfishing victims are women. A recent survey showed that 60% of all catfishing victims are men. (Source)

Why is Catfishing Called Catfishing?

To “catfish” metaphor comes from an old story about fishermen adding catfish to tanks with cod to keep the cod active during transport, essentially “keeping them on their toes”. This mirrors how the deception in the online world keeps the victim engaged and unaware of the fake identity of catfisher.

How to Know if Someone is Catfishing You? What are Some Examples to Be Aware of?

Here are some signs that someone might be catfishing you:

  • Personal information– a catfisher is likely to ask you for personal details like your full name, address, date of birth, or bank details. Don’t give those details to anyone online.
  • Money– they ask you for money, either as a loan or a gift.
  • Avoids meeting in person– they avoid video calls or meeting in person, even if they live in another country. One video call with you and their cover will be blown for good.
  • Relationship moves fast- they tell you they love you after only talking for a couple of days or weeks and having never met you in person.
  • Profile looks too good- their profile looks too good to be true, llike they’r a rich supermodel living their best life in Dubai.
  • Stolen pictures- they use stolen pictures, such as stock images, model pictures, or profile pictures from other accounts (see below how to find out for free).
  • Vague details– they only tell you vague details about themselves, and nothing that can be fact-checked.
  • Relationship secrecy– they ask you to keep the relationship a secret or isolate you from your friends or family.

You can use a reverse image search tool to see if the image has been taken from someone else.

Just copy their image and plug it into Google. If it shows up over and over under different names, you know you’re dealing with a catfisher.

How To Avoid Catfishing and How to Stop it?

Avoid catfishing by doing your due diligence while browsing the web. First, understand that catfishing exists and is real. Second, be vigilant and don’t connect with strangers, and especially don’t share any sensitive information and personally identifiable information with them.

Keep in mind that AI (artificial intelligence) makes online scams and fraud (including catfishing) 100 times easier for the perpetrator.

If you suspect you’re already being catfished then make sure you immediately break off any connection with that person.

Is Catfishing Illegal?

You’d think catfishing is illegal, but surprisingly, there is no specific law against catfishing. However, it is possible for the victim to bring the catfisher to justice by proving fraud, defamation of character, harassment or severe emotional distress.

What is Reverse Catfishing?

Reverse catfishing is a dating trend where users intentionally present themselves as less attractive than they are in real life. The goal is to draw attention to their profile and personality, rather than their looks. For example, a reverse catfisher might use photos of themselves that show them in less than ideal situations, such as eating, talking, or blinking.

What are the 100 Most used Photos for Catfishing?

The 100 most used photos for catfishing are the 100 most used pictures/profiles scammers use to try to get closer to someone and take advantage of them.

I don’t have these images here, but here’s a helpful site that lists all 100 of these photos.

Social Media Catfishing Statistics Facts and Trends for 2025 (Conclusion)

My updated guide for 2025 lists the best and latest statistics, facts and trends about catfishing on social media and how to prevent it from ever happening to you or your loved ones.

I hope you enjoyed it because the guide is now over.

During my research, I consulted these resources below:

References:

Nikola Roza

Nikola Roza is a blogger behind Nikola Roza- SEO for the Poor and Determined. He writes for bloggers who don't have huge marketing budget but still want to succeed. Nikola is passionate about precious metals IRAs and how to invest in gold and silver for a safer financial future. Learn about Nikola here.

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