Service
Catfish Investigation Services
Research into suspicious online identities: fabricated personas, reused profile photographs, conflicting details and accounts that do not match the story being told.
Source verification — illustrative
- Public corporate registryCorroborated
- Archived web contentCorroborated
- Public social profilePartially consistent
- Claimed employer websiteNot corroborated
The problem this service solves
A catfish case rarely collapses on one obvious lie. It usually shows up as a series of small things that do not fit: a photograph that appears under another name, a job that leaves no public trace, a city that does not match the details in the background of an image, a story that changes shape when questioned.
This investigation treats those fragments as evidence. Each element you can supply — profile, images, usernames, messages describing employment or location — is checked against independent public sources, and the results are compared with each other rather than accepted individually.
The outcome is a documented assessment of whether the persona holds together, where it fails, and how confident that judgment is. Where a real identity can reasonably be established, it is reported with the sources it rests on.
When clients use this service
- Profile photographs look professional, inconsistent or too polished for the story
- Video calls are refused, extremely short or apparently pre-recorded
- You have found the same photographs under a different name
- Personal details change between conversations
- The same person appears to run multiple profiles
- The account was created shortly before contact began
Step one
What information you can provide
Better starting information usually means a broader and faster investigation, but a case can often begin with very little.
- Links to every profile you are aware of
- All photographs and screenshots you have received
- Names, nicknames and usernames used
- Approximate date contact began
- Claimed job, employer, city and country
- Any phone number, email address or messenger handle
- Notable claims that struck you as inconsistent
Research scope
What may be researched
Research is limited to lawful, publicly available information and is confirmed with you before work begins.
- Whether supplied images appear publicly elsewhere
- Consistency of the persona across independent sources
- Multiple accounts apparently operated by one identity
- Account creation and visible posting history
- Username reuse patterns across platforms
- Contradictions between claimed and publicly available details
- Publicly visible connections to businesses or websites
- Patterns matching known online deception behaviour
Deliverable
What you receive
Every case ends in a written report you can read, keep and act on.
- A structured assessment of whether the identity appears genuine
- Documented inconsistencies with the sources behind them
- Findings on reused or misattributed imagery where identified
- Associated accounts identified during research
- A timeline of the persona's visible online history
- Confidence assessment and investigator conclusion
Pricing and turnaround
This service starts from $399. Price depends on the number of profiles and images involved, how many countries and languages appear, whether archived material is required, and how much verifiable starting information exists.
- What affects price
- Price depends on the number of profiles and images involved, how many countries and languages appear, whether archived material is required, and how much verifiable starting information exists.
- What affects turnaround
- Single-profile cases with good starting material move fastest. Multiple personas, several platforms or non-English sources extend the work. Urgent handling can be requested during case assessment.
- Honest limitations
- It cannot be guaranteed that every person can be positively identified. Absence of a public trace is reported as absence, not as proof of fraud. No access to private accounts, private messages or restricted databases.
Frequently asked questions
Can you always tell me who is really behind the profile?
No. Some cases resolve to a clearly identifiable person; others establish only that the presented identity cannot be corroborated and shows signs of fabrication. Both outcomes are reported honestly, and neither is promised in advance.
The photos look real. Does that mean anything?
Not by itself. Photographs are frequently taken from real people's public accounts and reused. Research looks at whether images appear elsewhere, whether the surrounding details support the claimed identity, and whether the account history matches the story you were told.
They have hundreds of followers and years of posts. Isn't that proof?
Account age and follower counts can be purchased, inherited or fabricated, and long-running accounts are sometimes repurposed. What matters is whether independent sources corroborate the same person, not how populated a single profile looks.
I already sent money. Is this still the right service?
If money has been sent, a romance scam investigation is usually the better fit because it covers payment claims and the wider pattern. State it in your submission and the assessment will recommend the correct scope.
Continue reading
- Online Identity VerificationPreventative verification when you have no specific suspicion yet.
- Romance Scam InvestigationWhen money has been requested or already sent.
- I think I'm being catfishedWhat can be checked, in plain terms.
- Guide: signs of catfishingWarning signs and what they do and do not prove.
- Example reportHow findings are presented.
- PricingStarting points for each investigation type.
Submit your case for an initial assessment
Tell us what you already know and what you need to establish. You will receive an assessment of what can realistically be researched, along with scope and pricing, before any work begins.