*Rehab does not accept video and image exposure due to the personal privacy of the interviewees.

I invite 8 catfish victims, some of them I interviewed before and we still getting in touch and they are willing to come to a rehab to communicate with each other. We sit together by sharing story and communicate how they react after been catfished to heal each other.

For people who have been fooled by catfishers or scam artists, one of the greatest problems can be the sense of shame or humiliation associated with having been tricked. Sometimes, victims are too scared or embarrassed to even contact the authorities and report what has happened.

First of all, everyone sat together and introduced themselves, age, gender, occupation and hobbies. I didn’t ask them to tell their stories directly, because it might be a little awkward for everyone to tell their stories when they don’t know each other well. So I first showed them an interview video I did before. The content was to interview and investigate the public’s understanding of whether catfish is legal, and to imagine a complete catfishing case test through the given keywords. Because some of the cases in this video are the real stories of the rehab participants themselves, it is meaningful to discuss after watching this video. This is the ice-breaking method I adopted. Then everyone naturally began to talk about their related experiences.

For anyone who has found themselves in this sort of situation, it is essential to remember that it can happen to anyone. People who engage in this sort of fraud have usually been doing it for years, and they know what they are doing; they seek out people’s vulnerabilities, and take full advantage of them.

Anyone who has been fooled in this way is likely to have to deal with complex feelings of hurt and shame. It can be difficult for them to trust again. For many, therapy is an important part of healing.

Later, in this rehab, I shared the important role of reverse psychology in catfishing.

Reverse psychology

Do new suitors overemphasise how honest, loyal and committed they are? If so, this could be a warning they’re a fraudster using reverse psychology. This plays a big part in their game, throwing you off guard when you’re most vulnerable, and having you doubting yourself.

Signs that someone might be engaging in reverse psychology include the following.

A person might make overly negative comments that seem to be designed to garner a reaction.
You feel like someone wants you to do something but they won’t make a direct request.
They keep harping on the same idea to the point that you find yourself wanting to do the opposite.
They have more to gain if you do the opposite of what they are suggesting.
The choice they are arguing in favor of isn’t consistent with their past choices.
One sign that someone might be using reverse psychology is that they suddenly begin advocating against a behavior that they would normally prefer.

For example, in the process of communicating with netizens, this person said that he had been hurt in his relationship before and would never love someone again. At this time, if you are interested in knowing more about him, you will feel that you want to gain the trust and affirmation of this person. When he said something like this, he was paving the way for the value-added of his emotional value in the future. In this way, the victim is already in a passive and easily manipulated situation. It is easier for scammers to achieve their goals. Participants agreed with this, and expressed that if they had known about it before, they might not be so easy to be catfished.

Before they leave I give each participant a lightfishing manual on anti-catfishing. They said they were happy to be part of this rehabilitation activity, which made them feel that they were not alone and that they had someone to talk to and share with. This healing method helps them get out of the shadow of being hurt.

*Rehab does not accept video and image exposure due to the personal privacy of the interviewees.