A sham, a hugely embarrassing public heartbreak, whatever
the case with Manti’s story, there is one thing we know for certain—we are extremely
vulnerable to catfishes, that is, being lured by online bottom feeders swimming
in the fresh waters of social media.
A catfish is someone who pretends to be
someone they're not using Facebook or other social media to create false
identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances (Urban Dictionary,
2012).
So how do you catch these fish, or better, prevent them from
swimming around your line? The answer, Web analytics. This doesn’t mean you
have to understand programming code.
Primarily used in business, Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of
visitors to a Web site (Rouse, 2005). Web analytics will reveal abnormal online
behavior and it is an essential tool for discovering the root cause of such
behavior.
Web analytics
can and should be used for personal use to protect your online identity and
prevent you from falling victim to a catfish. By analyzing online behavior, you
can identify when you’re building a relationship with a catfish early on, and
most likely, before you’re fully invested. Manti had a long-term relationship
with a catfish and probably never took a close look at all the conversations (traceable
data) he had with his “girlfriend” online.
Catfishes will
avoid in-person meetings and telephone calls, after awhile these actions become
glaring signals that something’s amiss.
Lesson #1: Don’t ignore
abnormal behavior; look into it.
All of the activity
that is taking place online between you and another person is conveniently
stored for you to analyze whenever you want. Start by look through the history
of the conversations you’ve had with this person, and the conversations they’ve
had with others. By viewing the conversations collectively, you’ll easily spot
inconsistencies, lies, and unusual behavior.
In fact, odd
behavior is what sparked exhaustive online research conducted by Deadspin
reporters who broke Manti’s story. As major news media began covering the death
of Manti’s girlfriend, Deadspin reporters began to research online to verify
her death. They found nothing by searching Social Security Administration records.
Additionally, there were no online news articles that recounted her death or
the actual accident. These reporters identified unusual online behavior and
looked further.
Lesson #2: Google is your
best friend.
Eventually, they
found the night crawlers that ultimately brought Manti’s catfish to the surface—image
files. The perpetrator used photographs from a 22-year-old California woman’s
social media account to create the fake social media profiles. But, it’s not the
image of the woman in the photographs. It is the filename.
By taking the
filename of an image (i.e., My-Celebration-Party-2008.jpg) and conducting a quick
search using Google Images, Manti could have uncovered his catfish long before
he began publicly expressing his sadness.
Google has proven
to be the best method to hook a catfish. If you find it hard to obtain the filename,
ask your new “friend” to email you a photo. Then take the filename and plug it
into Google Image’s search bar. If you just can’t obtain filenames, then use
the person’s first and last name to conduct a search.
Lesson #3: Don’t make it easy to become a
victim.
If Manti Te’o is telling the truth, then there is a second
victim—the woman who is pictured in the photos that were used to create the
false identity. Can you imagine what it would be like to turn on national news
and to see your photo alongside reports that the woman pictured is dead? Imagine
the impact this would have on your family.
Check your privacy settings when using online sites. Social
media sites can restructure privacy settings in a single upgrade exposing your
online information to catfishes and other digital fraudsters. Social media
networks upgrade often, so check your privacy settings often. Select the
highest, most restrictive, privacy settings.
Lesson #4: Take time
to inform your family and friends.
Our world has changed significantly. More people are
spending more time online than ever before.
In as little as six years, Facebook has connected more than
one billion users worldwide. Social media now accounts for 18% of time spend
online (Fox, 2012) and for the first time, half of adults 65 and older are
online. As of February 2012, one-third of Internet users age 65 and older use
social networking sites such as Facebook (Zickuhr, Madden, 2012).
Ten years ago, your grandmother didn’t know what the
Internet was and she certainly didn’t want to hear about it. Today, Granny is sharing
photos of her winning Bingo card and giving a digital thumbs up to her
grandson, Billy, who just posted a video of his teammates celebrating over
pizza.
We’re wildly connected, but there’s no manual. Take the time
to stay informed and teach your loved ones how to identify abnormal behavior
and protect their online identities. And, by all means, share and tweet this
valuable information to friends in your social network.
References:
References:
Urban Dictionary (2012). Catfish. Retrieved on January 24,
2013, from, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=catfish
Rouse, M. (2005, September). Definition Web Analtyics.
Retrieved on January 24, 2013, from, http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/Web-analytics
Fox, Z. (2012, November, 28). This Is How Much Time You
Spend on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. Retrieved on January 25, 2013, from, http://mashable.com/2012/11/28/social-media-time/
Zickuhr, K., Madden, M. (2012, June 6). Older Adults and
Internet Use. Retrieved on January 25, 2013, from, http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Older-adults-and-internet-use/Summary-of-findings.aspx
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