"Catfished" episode - Web of Lies (2014) Discussion

[–] GraceFromSoCal 8 years ago

"Catfish: The TV Show" is a reality based television series on MTV about the truths and lies of online dating. Anyone interested in online dating should watch that show.

Just a little correction: it's fake.  I had seen the movie, Catfish, and thought it was really interesting. I liked its star/producer, Nev Schulman, so when the TV show started, I watched. A few minutes in on the first episode my "WTF?!" alarm started going off. By the second episode I knew it was fake. Of course I started looking around online for confirmation--or not!--and saw that the consensus was that it's fake.

That's a shame, too, because there are zillions of REAL catfish stories out there; Dr Phil has done quite a few, complete with the actual people, real private detectives who've gone in search of the supposed people/addresses, and so on. If Dr Phil can do it, so can a show about it, you know?

But now about THIS show!  I felt like a lot was left untold. I mean I ended up with a lot of questions that weren't answered.

Brian was definitely a bit off mentally; I understand that being fooled for two years is a bad thing, but it was like he had no capability of understanding that the woman whose photos were stolen was ALSO a victim, and not the perpetrator. Going cross country to kill her was ludicrous.

--

My pet peeves:
http://thesearemypetpeeves.blogspot.com

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[–] HorrorHound850 8 years ago

I'm watching this episode now and flipping out. Brittney Cavallari was on my Facebook for a couple of years from like 2011-2013, before I deleted "her". We even talked once on FB messenger about a band. But yea, the person behind that account was a obvious internet troll. Lookin' back, that account duped alot of people to buy her things and such. This is crazy.

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[–] EmilyTheDramaQueen 8 years ago

Yeah I heard about that account before and I've heard about it being a "Western Union" scam page which usually are idiots in Africa. One of them was where a person would talk back and forward with you like they are the girl in the pictures and saying how she was in another country and eventually you'd get a message saying she's stranded and needed to get to where you are so you can be together or something like that and ask you to send her money through Western Union and you'd never hear from her again. There was another called Brittney Lynn and one called Stephanny Granier as well with the same pics.

"I'd rather lose for what I am than win for what I ain't"

Kacey Musgraves "Pageant Material"

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

I couldn't get over :
1) He waited 2 friggin years to "test" her? Who waits 2 years in a relationship without actually calling the person on the phone or using Skype..whatever, to confirm they are real ? Guy was a "catfishers" dream.
2) When I realized I had been duped I would have assumed the pics were fake also, as his brother said. I mean, the whole thing is a lie....why would the pics be any different? Why would the person even use their real pics?
3) He found out it was NOT the Tiffany girl and he STILL went after her....that's crazy. He should have had sympathy for her if anything. He should have contacted her to tell her his story...might have helped her case. Maybe.
4) Thank God for his brother. He probably saved her life. And his brother from a life sentence.

Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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[–] GraceFromSoCal 8 years ago

I couldn't get over :
1) He waited 2 friggin years to "test" her? Who waits 2 years in a relationship without actually calling the person on the phone or using Skype..whatever, to confirm they are real ? Guy was a "catfishers" dream.
2) When I realized I had been duped I would have assumed the pics were fake also, as his brother said. I mean, the whole thing is a lie....why would the pics be any different? Why would the person even use their real pics?
3) He found out it was NOT the Tiffany girl and he STILL went after her....that's crazy. He should have had sympathy for her if anything. He should have contacted her to tell her his story...might have helped her case. Maybe.
4) Thank God for his brother. He probably saved her life. And his brother from a life sentence.

^^ Yes, what slidell333 said! 

--

My pet peeves:
http://thesearemypetpeeves.blogspot.com

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

Thanks😛 I watched two more Web of Lies episodes and two more cases of fake Facebook profiles...and to tell a personal story...right now I know someone with over 15 Facebook accounts...he's a 58 year old man...he uses women, celebrities, even a black lady (as names and pics) we found tonight (my GF's friend texted us tonight and said "hey, this is a fake one of his and he has you (me) as a mutual friend..Weird...as I no longer add ANYONE unless I clearly know them one way or the other. This guys are so obvious it's funny) to infiltrate my profile to get to my GF and her friend and vice-versa. And we've contacted Facebook SEVERAL times and they did NOTHING. I know he's not smart enough to use a IP address changer...I dont get it. It's literally stalking. He's 500 plus pounds and sits at his computer all day making fake Facebook profiles to mess with people. Facebook doesn't care.

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[–] nativenewyorker88 8 years ago

I agree. That brother of his deserves some kind of sibling of the year reward. As for his brother. What a weirdo. He knew the real perp was some guy in South Africa and yet still went after her who was just as much (if not more of) a victim than him. What an asinine jerk.

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[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

I thought it was pretty insane. The guy was really pathetic.

I met my wife online. We skyped after like a week of talking. Why not confirm the identity of people that you're talking seriously with? I mean, how much is a webcam nowadays? If they can't afford a cheap webcam or a cheap phone to send a verified picture... then what's the point of talking?

I think the guy was in love with the idea of being in love... especially with a girl that was out of his league. Girls like that don't date guys thousands of miles away.

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

I finally bought a webcam a few months ago...think it was like $14. I agree, I think he liked the idea of being in love with this girl that is WAY out of his league (the actor in the episode is probably four times better looking than the real guy), deep down inside he probably knew it was all a lie, he just couldn't/didn't want to know the truth.

Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

Welcome to the webcam world! My laptop comes with a built in webcam. I just don't understand how people are catfished nowadays. Maybe for a few weeks, but I don't understand how it goes for that long. Some people just want love and will do anything to get it, even it means being delusional.

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

I just don't get it, either...there are so many signs that you're being catfished it's pathetic...pics that are too good to be true...pics that don't fit the area they live (like mountains in the background of an area with NO mountains...if they refuse any calls or Skype calls...etc. I watched like three more Web of Lies episodes and at least two of them concerned fake Facebook accounts. But in one the girl was very young, but she should have caught on that some of his story didn't make sense (like meeting at a party in the middle of the woods). I just wish people would use a little common sense but on these shows its like they never once question it. I guess that's why I like this show so much. It just blows my mind.

Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

Totally. One of my friends was talking to this girl who was living in Alaska. She was a model and was really tan. A tan in Barrow Alaska? I asked him about that and he said "Oh I know you think she is a Catfish, but she actually has a tanning booth." A model from Barrow Alaska with a tanning booth? Uh huh. Well, she turned out to be a gay guy from Arizona. For me, every single one of these Web of Lies episodes are ridiculous. I love watching crime shows, but these people really don't have a lot of common sense. My wife says that's why you'll never see me on the show because 1) I hate talking to people and 2) I'm super suspicious.

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

Me too...lol...I don't really care for talking to people and I'm extremely suspicious. I don't know to chalk it up to street smarts or just being extremely wary of people's REAL intentions. I guess I've just seen so many people getting taken for money, drugs, etc...

A tanned girl in Alaska? Yeah, I would have immediately just assumed it was bogus. Not for one second would I have even the slightest thought in my head that it was real. She'd had to prove it to me, and I mean not just a phone call.

I can honestly say I don't think I know anyone that's ever been catfished...not like they'd admit it however! I do know of at least one person having a LTR online, and after at least a year finally taking off cross country to meet said person and when he got there, she immediately wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with him due to his obesity. Like slammed the door in his face and was PO'd she'd wasted her time. I'll have to get the story again next time my friend comes back to town. He knows the whole story.

Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

Totally... I think it must be street smarts. I mean some people think everyone is telling the truth, but I automatically think everyone is lying. Maybe it's because I'm a city person.

Yeah, when he told me I instantly said get her on Skype. He finally found out and was pretty crushed... the first thing he said was "I should have known better, I'm not that good looking." So that was kind of depressing.

LOL... I would never admit to being catfished. I would take that to the grave. Really? Wow, that's kind of cold blooded. Wait, did your friend know this person was obese or did they lie about that?

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

I'm not quite sure...he was really obese at the time, I don't know is she was skinny or had a little weight on her, either. It's been probably a decade or more. She may have been big boned or a little heavy but he was just TOO big. He's had the surgery since then and weighs probably 230-250 now. He was gonna die if he didn't do something. And he was in his twenties at the time!

Absolutely ...I assume everything that comes out of people's mouths is a lie, swear to God. Except for my GF and parents. Not like "I heard it's gonna rain today" type stuff but just about anything else...unless I saw it, or somehow know it's true I assume they're lying for the most part. I think a lot of it comes from when I was out there bad on pain meds, because in that world...everyone LIES. 24/7.

I criggin love this show. I know they end in someone dying but it just fascinates me. And I felt bad for that young girl who got catfished by that older guy and they thought it was his girlfriend originally...but in a way I feel these kids would actually know better than most, they've grown up with the Internet. The episode with the newly divorced 55 year-old woman, I can kinda understand. This is literally all new to her. I'm sure it's rampant in High Schools nowadays...heck, right now we've got a 50 something year old man with literally 20 or more Facebook profiles.

Yesterday, my GF's friend texted us and said "he tried getting me to accept this profile and the only mutual friend was Steve (me)." I was like oh crap, got on FB and deleted this profile immediately. Funny thing is I don't accept people unless I'm positive I know them one way or the other and it said friends since August 2015. I swear, I think Facebook adds friends sometimes. It even said I was "following" this profile...or maybe the other way around....don't even recall the friend request. Really odd. And by then I was on the lookout for his BS profiles. He's 550 pounds and just sits on his computer all day creating FB profiles, and gossiping about people and in general, starting Sh!t. Has NO life.

Dave "Crown Time" Blankenship for Time Man of the Year.

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[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

Wow, that's crazy. That was kind of a harsh rejection, but maybe that was what he needed to turn his life around.

Totally, I mean little things I let go, but I always take things with a grain of salt. It takes a long time for me to trust someone. I mean, they need to have a long verified record of being dependable and truthful.

I totally love crime shows. They are so interesting. I mostly like to see what I would do.

Do you ever look these people up on Facebook? I have looked a few of them before. It's so dumb... their Facebooks are public so you can see all their personal info and pictures. I mean, have these people not learned anything? Insane.

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[–] slidell333 8 years ago

Me too, it takes time for me to trust people. And I tell people, don't tell people your dark secrets...stuff they can turn around against you if things go bad. Seen it WAY too many times. I've messed up myself.

Somebody posted the Facebook page of that women who's boyfriend had the pit bulls that mauled his neighbor to death on the most recent episode of Fear thy Neighbor. I didn't look hard, but they say she always posts about how she misses him (he only got one year for the mauling but was in the headlines late last year after a stand-off with the police), I posted a link on the message board on that show's board.

I just watched an old Ep. Of WOL, the one with the Texas A and M professor that was getting catfished then extorted when the person in the pic was the man's daughter but he was the one communicating with the professor, she had no clue. He jumped off a building. Oh, then I watched one where this pregnant girl was kidnapped after meeting someone on MySpace as she was young and broke looking for clothes, etc...she said when they pulled up there were no clothes in the car and she thought that was odd, then they said "it's only 30 miles away, get in and we will take you." They took her to a motel were they had a makeshift operating table where they planned on killing her and stealing her baby, as she had been lying about being pregnant and now she had to do something or the gig was up. Luckily her friend left and dropped a dime on her...

Funny thing is I know someone that has pulled that fake pregnancy stunt....twice! Collected clothes from my friends and everything. And I said from day one she's not pregnant! And I was right. She friggin got skinnier as her "pregnancy" went on! She has like a tumor that sometimes like flares up and her stomach did get big but that was just because she was eating as she was in jail...she claimed until the end she really thought she was pregnant...um, what about her period? She knew. She was probably hiding the tampons...people are NUTS!

Facebook has literally ruined some of my friends' marriages and relationships...and started "wars" between people. I like the funny stuff, but mostly it's just people talking about their political preference and how you are an idiot if you don't think like they do.

And did I mention I know someone with like 20 fake profiles? And Facebook does NOTHING about him. And I know he's not smart enough to use a program that changes your IP address. Crazy.

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[–] jabell 8 years ago

If you want to meet someone online go to a legitimate website like eHarmony or Match or Jdate or Christian Mingle. My daughter met her husband through eHarmony, and I know a number of other people who also met that way. It's not free, but it's not that expensive, and it is legitimate.

Boo Hoo! Let me wipe away the tears with my PLASTIC hand!--Lindsey McDonald (Angel)

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[–] craftygal1965 8 years ago

You still need to be careful on the aid site. I watched an episode if "Dates from Hell" last night. The victim had been dating a guy that she met on match.cin. 4 months later he tried to kill her! After they broke up, he met another woman from Match and killed her. He as convicted on the attempted murder, but committed suicide before going to trial for the murder.

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[–] BugisStreetAnnie (1294) 7 years ago

How did he find out it was a gay guy in Arizona?

I was also thinking, "Well I'm sure they have tanning beds in Alaska." I didn't think that was so unusual.

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[–] nativenewyorker88 8 years ago

You got it. They want to believe it so much that they trick themselves into thinking something is true when they know deep inside it's false. It's willful delusionment.

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[–] Metal_Basher 8 years ago

Dating is dead now.

HARLEYS R4 YUPPIES
(my bumper sticker)

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