I watch "Catfish" on MTV religiously every Wednesday night. This show has a lot of great strategies and lessons on catching a Catfish. A catfish is a person on any social media site would take another’s pictures and pretend to be them. When revealed that the person isn’t who they say they are, these people start to wonder and get upset. Personally, if you know that person is acting “fishy,” you should step away. Sometimes, the people who are “victims of catfishing” get hurt and upset. Whose fault is it when you don’t do extensive research on who you’re talking to? Here are 10 guidelines someone might be a catfish:

1. They don’t have Facetime, Skype or Oovoo — When a catfish tells you that they don’t know about Skype or Facetime, just tell them it won’t work between you guys. Sometimes the catfish might say their Skype or Facetime doesn’t work or when they do skype but you see black, simply, address the situation, end the call and forget them.
2. They text you and never call you — Catfishers will be too scared to call you because they don’t want to reveal they're true identity. For example, you think you're talking to a guy, but the catfish is a girl. So they won’t call. However, if the catfisher is smart enough, they can get someone else to talk. In this situation, ask a bunch of questions. When they say they can’t call or ignore your call, block them.
3. They have every excuse in the book not to see you. — This is probably the most common sign to know if someone is a catfish. If they give you excuse after excuse, it is not worth to go on with the relationship. Sometimes, the catfish would say yes and then might stand you up. Don’t continue with the relationship.
4. They have the same pictures from their social media and send it to you in text — This is a self-evident sign that you are talking to a fake person. If they cannot simply take a selfie with a spoon on their nose, say goodbye.
5. They say they are a model, singer, actress, blah blah blah. — Lies, lies, and more lies. They just make up these glorious stories in order to make the person be amazed and stay around. Most likely, if they don’t have a portfolio, a social media page or website of their work, they are not a model, singer or actor. Sorry to break it to you.
6. If they randomly contact you and you have no idea who they are, stay away — If some random John Doe contacts you out of nowhere or adds you on social media, ignore, ignore ignore.
7. No pictures of friends, family or of themselves (different from the ones they show you), goodbye! — They have no backup to prove they are real. How real can real get when someone has no pictures of their close ones available? If you don’t see this right away, know that this profile has been made with copy and paste.
8. Their online profile is basic and boring — If they don’t state any excitement, interest, or even nothing at all, chances are, they’re a catfish.
9. Ask for money or any source of income — Never, I mean never give anyone bank information, credit card information, or anything else like that, even if they aren’t a catfish. This is just a scam. Don’t fall into this trap. They will give you a sob story and a half in order to get money from you.
10. If you have any suspicions or feelings if something doesn’t add up, trust your instincts — Simple, if you feel like things aren’t going right or isn’t sitting well with you, go with your conscious. Nine times out of ten your intuition is always right. Never underestimate yourself.

I am an active user of online dating, I’ll admit. I have my suspicions and my truths. I look for these things when I first talk to someone. And for that anyone should also. I think if you’re someone who is an online dater or even on social media, these things are super important to look at. Some catfish are smart and might fool you. But, there are other ways to find they aren’t true. There are websites that help you also. It is important that you watch out for yourself and your heart.